Inheritance
by ThrashtillDeath
Summary: Iruka takes Mizuki's shuriken to the back in place of Naruto. Thinking Iruka to be dead, Naruto loses control and prepares to unleash the Kyuubi, however before he can tear off the seal, he is stopped by the hand of his hero. The Yondaime Hokage...
1. Traitor!

**Inheritance**

_Chapter 1_

Naruto, in truth had lost focus in what was going on around him. The whirlwind of thoughts and emotions flying around him were just too much to ignore. He was a fox demon? The same one that had killed the Fourth and attacked the village? That was why no-one seemed to care? Why he was never acknowledged? At first, he had brushed Mizuki's words of a lies; but mere seconds later it all made sense to him. The hatred directed his way for seemingly no reason, the coldness, the disgust. It all fit with what Mizuki was saying.

He was a _demon._

He had _killed._

He vaguely recognised Mizuki announcing his attack and launching the shuriken at him, and it didn't take him very long to make the decision not to move; instead he just closed his eyes and waited.

_Thud._

The blonde waited for the pain to kick in. He felt a warm liquid splash onto his face, and begin to run across his definitive whisker marks and surmised it was his own blood.

"Naruto, you okay?"

Naruto's eyes flew open, only to be greeted with a bloody Iruka hovering over him struggling to hold himself upright. He had taken the attack instead of Naruto.

"You need to listen to me Naruto"

Iruka gasped, struggling for breath. He had already recognised what had happened to him. Mizuki's shuriken had been laced with a fast active toxin that acts to paralyse the body entirely. He had been hit by it once before, on a mission to Rice Country and so recognised the feeling rather well. This also meant he only had around a minute or so before he would pass out after becoming fully paralysed leaving unable to protect his student further. He had to get through to him, or the consequences could be disastrous.

"Naruto, I believe in you. You will make Hokage, I know it." He couldn't think of anything else to say, but looking at the young aspiring shinobi's face, he knew he hadn't been heard. Naruto was too torn up, too engulfed in self doubt to even realise what was happening. Iruka felt his muscles give way as dropped to the ground beside Naruto, unable to remain conscious.

The sound of Iruka dropping to the ground knocked Naruto out of his stupor. He knew the scarred Chunin was talking to him, but he hadn't picked up on what was being said. Regardless, the wound from the attack shouldn't have caused Iruka that much trouble; even Naruto knew that much. Something was wrong. It was then he heard one word, spoken with immeasurable smugness.

"Poison."

Poison that would explain it! Wait, Iruka hadn't moved. He still wasn't. _Poison. _But that would mean Iruka

was...

For the first time in his life Naruto was angry. Actually, it was more than that. Naruto was nearly completely consumed with complete fury. He didn't even notice his vision swim red as a vile feeling swept over the clearing and his body was completely coated with blood red chakra. Dark whispers filled his mind as his anger grew, and with it; the amount of the chakra poured out of his body. The blonde was struggling to control his own bloodlust when Iruka's words came to him as if from a distant dream.

"_Naruto, I believe in you."_

That was all it took to push him over the edge. All that was needed for his mind to stop struggling for control, and for him to lose grip on consciousness and allowed control of his own body to slip away.

..._Drip_

_...Drip_

_...Drip_

Naruto was pulled to his feet out of the water by tendrils of red chakra, his eyes were dull and grey almost as if he were dead. If it weren't for the ragged and course breathing, he wouldn't be showing any signs of life at all. What had been dark whispers of rage and violence at the back of his mind, were now full blown roars that exuded the sheer malevolence of the creature that the thirteen year old now stood before in the dark recesses of his own mind.

"_**Come closer, boy. I will end all your pain, all your suffering. All I need is one favour and it will all be better. I...promise."**_

Naruto showed no other signs of being aware of what he was being told until he slowly began to stumble forwards towards the great bars that held the creature at bay.

"_**Yes, Yes. Good. Now all you need to do is remove that piece of paper reading 'seal' and I promise all of your pain will go away"**_

Naruto simply reached for the paper and began to pull away. Suddenly, the blonde tensed as the vibrant blue returned to his eyes. It took him a couple of seconds to regain his bearings and to notice the hand that had prevented him from completely removing the seal from the cage that held back the demon.

"I really didn't want it to come to this; but I do get to see how my son has grown...so I guess that makes it even."

The blonde stared up at the man who had awakened him from his trance, whilst the demon roared in frustration.

"Yondaime-sama..."


	2. A Heritage Revealed!

_Chapter 2_

Now, any one even remotely acquainted with Uzumaki Naruto would know, that he was definitely not one for honorifics. He face down several of the single most powerful ninja the world had ever seen and brush them off with a vaguely rude nickname. The Sandaime Hokage was evidence of that very fact. He was the single most respected and powerful ninja in Konoha; he was their leader, The God of Shinobi. However, despite knowing every jutsu in Konoha, training the Sannin and surviving two of The Great Shinobi Wars; to Uzumaki Naruto, he was quite simply 'The Old Man'.

So when the same Uzumaki Naruto was faced with Konoha's own Namikaze Minato, the 'Yellow Flash', it was a testament to Naruto's respect and admiration for the man that all Naruto could muster was an awed 'Yondaime-sama'. Naruto himself was still trying to understand events himself. All he could remember before being faced with the image of the Yondaime, was learning the Kage Bunshin and Iruka and Mizuki turning up-

The rest of the memories hit him like kunai, each one driving itself deeper into him than the last. That feeling from before returned he was angry, hurt and confused all at the same time. It began to build once again, and once again red chakra began to creep beyond it's boundaries towards the distraught boys.

"Naruto, you need to calm down"

Naruto's eyes darted upwards back towards the Yondaime who had placed his hand on the other blonde's shoulder, and the red chakra began to recede; resulting in another cry of frustration from the Kyuubi. The Fourth just nonchalantly looked over his shoulder at the beast, peered back to Naruto and jabbed at the demon with his thumb.

"He sure is a noisy one isn't he? What do say we go talk somewhere else?"

Naruto could only nod as the Yondaime took Naruto's arm and the two appeared to phase out of existance causing the Kyuubi to cry out once more.

* * *

Naruto looked around at his new surrounding quietly. For the first time in his life he didn't have anything to yell about. No message of defiance to scream out to the world. He glanced to the man standing in front of him and didn't know how to react. The _Yondaime_ was standing right there in front of him and he barely even reacted. It was only when the former Hokage began to speak that Naruto even made eye contact with him.

"Naruto, I know that you've been through a lot tonight. I understand that you're in pain and that you lost someone important to you. But I need you to listen to what I have to say to you. I don't have much time until my chakra runs out and I have to leave, okay?" The blonde in question nodded once again, but said nothing. Seeing this, Minato sighed but pressed on nevertheless.

"First of all, I want to clear up what happened on the night of the Kyuubi's attack. I did _not_ transform the fox into you. I was however forced to use a sealing jutsu to trap the Kyuubi away at the cost of my own life. Unfortunately, a demon of Kyuubi's power is far to powerful to be contained in just anything. To be sealed securely, it need to be trapped inside of a newborn human baby. That baby, was you."

Naruto's gaze fell downwards again, focusing on where the floor should have been.

"But I still dont understand, why did it have to be me? Why pick me! I, I -" But he was interrupted by the late Kage's hand grasping his shoulder reassuringly. Naruto looked up towards the Yondaime, who sported an ever so slightly cocky grin.

"Well I couldn't trust such an important job to any old kid. The kid I chose needed to be strong enough to keep that Fox locked away for good. So then, who better to choose than my own son? Right, Naruto?" Naruto's eyes never left the Yondaime's face. He desperately searched for any trace of deceipt in the man's face, but could find none.

"I'm...the son of the Yondaime?" Naruto's eyes widened slowly as the news sunk in.

Minato grinned even wider when he saw his son's reaction. He had been afraid that Naruto would have been angry with him, or even rejected him all together. But there was too much Kushina in him. Of course, he had been watching over Naruto all this time. And even though it infuriated him, he could do nothing aside from watch his son endure treatment that would have broken any normal child. Naruto was never beaten, or abused. Even verbally. But some would argue that what Naruto endured was even worse. He was quite simply, _ignored._ As far as the rest of the village was concerned, he never existed. No-one made eye contact, no-one would talk to him. For years, the closest thing to attention Naruto got; occasional visits from the Sandaime aside, were hushed comments made when the villagers thought he was out of earshot.

The tall blonde haired shinobi's image started to fade, and his demenour became serious as he realised he was nearly out of chakra.

"Naruto, I'm almost out of chakra. I need to reseal the Kyuubi's chakra before I run out." His fingertips glowed blue with sealing chakra as he re-applyed the seal to Naruto's stomach.

"Your Mother and I are proud of you Naruto, and we always will be. We'll be watching you when you make Hokage, I love you son."

Naruto, rushed at the fast dissapearing figure of his father; his arms outstretched, as if he was going to try ang grab him to prevent him fro leaving.

"Wait, I-" But his father had already gone, and the formerly white room begain to fade to black as if he had been knocked unconscious."

* * *

The Sandaime looked at the receding chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Naruto had almost given over to the beast, and Sarutobi had mobilised the full force of his ANBU to ensure that the tragedy of twelve years ago would not repeat itself. He himself had led the force, dressed in his full battle gear, with Enma at the ready. He had spent the entire journey going over the seals to the Shiki Fuin in his mind, and an ANBU had been dispatched to find an appropriate vessel for the summon.

But his thorough preparations had been for naught. He arrived with his ANBU to find that only residual chakra remained around Naruto, a sure-fire sign that the Kyuubi had been _resealed. _Of course, that was entirely impossible only himself and Jiraiya had the knowledge to perform the Shiki Fuin.

"Hokage-sama, what is going on?" The ANBU captain directly to his right asked. The Scarecrow-like man was donned in an Inu mask and was, despite his ANBU status, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

"There are two possible explanations. One is that the Kyuubi has been resealed, by a seal master. However, the seal would have to be the Shiki Fuin; and therefore only myself and Jiraiya could have been the ones to do it."

"Well that's impossible. Jiraiya-sama isn't here, and it definately was not yourself."

"Indeed." Replied Sarutobi, "That would leave one more explanation. And that would be that Naruto himself managed to resist the Kyuubi's power and is forcing the chakra back through willpower alone. Which I'm sure you'll agree is-"

The two were interrupted by the sound of Naruto collapsing to the ground. Sarutobi and the ANBU captain were there in a flash, to assess the condition of the boy, but were further surprised when the blonde jinchuuriki began to pull himself to his feet.

"Man, I feel like I just fell off the Hokage Mountain. Everything hurts!" Grumbled the blonde, whilst rubbing the top of his head and staring accusedly at the ground, apparently not noticing his audience. "Hang on, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto for the first time looked up, coming eye to eye with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hokage-jiji! Iruka-sensei he-" Naruto began frantically.

"You don't need to worry Naruto. Iruka will be okay, he is on his way to the hospital. Now do you mind if I look at your stomach? I just need to check something."

"You wanna see my new seal?" a relieved looking Naruto asked.

Sarutobi was forced to stop to think about his next move. Mizuki had told the boy that he had been transformed into the Kyuubi, not that the Kyuubi had been sealed. He also said that the seal was 'new'; that made no sense. There was no evidence that anyone had placed a new seal on him, there wasn't even evidence that anyone but Naruto and the two chuunin instructors had been here. Regardless, he needed to check the safety of the seal anyway.

"Yes Naruto, I need to check it to ensure it is secure."

Naruto simply lifted his shirt, revealing the Shiki Fuin; still glowing a deep red. Sarutobi was taken aback, the seal was freshly sealed. Not only that, but it was exactly as it was the night of the sealing, when Jiraiya and himself had checked over it. There were no signs of the usual seal decay that should have been there, and the decay that had _already_ been there. He needed to exactly what had happened.

"ANBU you are dismissed, and shall return to your normal duties. Everything you have seen here is an S-ranked secret, the punishment for revealing it is, as a result, death. Naruto is exempt from this." And with that he turned to Naruto. "Unfortunately we need to talk in my office before you do anything else. I know you want to go see Iruka, but it will have to wait. I am certain you understand how serious this situation was, and still is." Sarutobi looked over the boy's tattered clothing, before adding, "You have half an hour to get a change of clothes if you wish."

"Okay, jiji."

**And there's Chapter 2. It took far longer than I had planned, because college got in the way. However, now that the basis for the story is out of the way, I can get on with the fun stuff like team assignments, missions and training. The Team layouts aren't decided at the moment, so if anyone has idea's or preferences I'm completely open to them. As are suggestions with just about anything else. Also, any critisism is welcome as I'm well aware I'm a fairly poor writer, but I enjoy it and am always looking to get better.**

**As an aside, anyone still interested in my other story, A Turn of Events. It is not forgotten or discontinued. I have had a large period without access to a computer and wasn't able to even type up anything. Even now I am on a college computer. However, I have about fifteen chapters handwritten; and it's just a matter of getting around to the daunting task of typing it up.**

**Thanks for the response for the first chapter. It's already better than my first story so for that I'm grateful.**


	3. An S ranked Mission!

_Chapter 3_

Sarutobi studied the portfolio open in front of incredibly carefully. Inside lay the the images and profiles of some of his most capable, and perhaps more importantly his most trusted Shinobi. Should there be a mission of high importance, these were the ninja that would be called upon to do it. Of course there were a range of skill levels and abilities, from Umino Iruka to Hatake Kakashi; just about every possible mission or task that needed to be undertaken was covered. These were truly his 'best of the best'.

However, the latest task that would be assigned to one of these exceptional shinobi was proving to be particularly hard to match a profile to. It was to be a long term mission of the highest importance, and therefore would be S-ranked. meaning the mission details would be off limits to all but Sarutobi himself and the ninja undertaking the mission. Normally, this kind of mission would be left to the likes of Kakashi, or some of the especially high ranking ANBU. However, the cycloptic Jonin was due to take a Genin team in precisely a week, so he was out of the running. Not only that, but this mission was of extreme importance to the Sandaime himself; and as much as it pained the vetern Hokage to admit it, there were too few ANBU that he could fully trust, to be able to use one of the higher ranked for this mission.

He had narrowed down his choices to two candidates. They were both Tonkubetsu Jonin rank, one was still part of ANBU, the other part of the Interrogation and Torture department. Both were of adequate ability to fill out the role, however as memories of both candidates began to fill his mind, one candidate in particular began to stand out from the other.

A slight smile found it way onto Sarutobi's face as he rose from the chair in his office. He would have the shinobi summoned immediately.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto however, had a very different dilemma. After his brief conversation with the Sandaime about the events of the previous night, he had been informed that the formation of Genin teams was being held back by a month. This would normally have outraged Naruto, but after that nights events; even he was had reached the limit of his stamina, and therefore the consequences of that particular announcement were not realised until midway through his breakfast.

Of course, the 'realisation' had not been subtle, and as a consequence he was now being 'forced' to eat breakfast at Ichiraku's. Also, if anyone were to ask if he knew anything about the Hokage's underwear being dyed orange... It wasn't him. He wasn't even there, Okay?

The delay in the creation of the Genin teams left him with absolutely nothing to do for a whole month, besides having to meet with the Hokage in the afternoon. And possibly again once the orange underwear he had _nothing_ to do with was discovered. It didn't take him long to set his sights on what he wanted to do. Train. And then train some more. But that led to another problem, what should he focus on. While he was confident of his skills, he wasn't arrogant enought to believe that he didn't have any faults. His jutsu range was decidedly poor compared to the rest of the graduates. Most of the clan heirs had training in their family jutsu as well as the academy jutsu, even Sakura had a few genjutsu to her name. Not to mention he had no formal taijutsu style to speak of. He knew the katas to the academy style, and could perform them reasonably well. But despite this, every time he tried to spar using the style, he couldn't seem to get the movements to flow together.

Whilst he could try and learn some jutsu, or a taijutsu style, these things required a teacher. He would need to find someone who not only was willing to actually teach him, but someone who had the time. The only person who could fit the bill was Iruka-sensei, who had already thrown himself back into teaching at the academy. But Naruto knew what his reply would be should he ask him. Iruka would simply tell him he had to improve his basic knowledge and skills before he could be taught the more advanced things he craved to learn.

This led Naruto to a conclusion that he had been trying to avoid, he would have to go back and learn the basics. The blonde let out a groan in between mouthfuls. This was exactly what he had been so happy to get away from, all the _boring_ reading; he couldn't see the point. Stuff from books can't be_ that_ important for being a ninja. That stuff was for posers like Sasuke who cared about class rankings. But then a thought crossed his mind.

_His Father._ The Yondaime had graduated top of his class, and two years early on top of that. Which would have meant that he would have had to have been really good at everything. Even the book stuff. His Father had told that he was proud, but would he still be proud if he could see him now? Still in denial about one of his most glaring faults? Naruto stood up as he finished his last mouthful of ramen. He had promised more than once to surpass all the previous Hokages, including his own Father, and he wasn't going to stop until he had. And besides, since when did Uzumaki Naruto break his promises?

* * *

Uzuki Yuugao was staring open mouthed at the Hokage. An _S-ranked_ mission? She had never been on a mission ranked as high as that, even with ANBU. And the Hokage had already told her that it would be solo and outside of ANBU, which meant it would go on her official record and be public knowledge that she had completed such a mission. She didn't know whether to be ecstatic or terrified.

"Now Yuugao-san, I would suppose that you are wondering what your mission objectives are. Correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" Yuugao nodded slowly as she spoke, her anticipation gradually rising the longer the Hokage drew out the conversation.

"Before I state the mission objectives, I want to let you know that this mission is of great importance to the village as well as being of great personal importance to me."

Yuugao visibly gulped, she couldn't fail this mission. She would give her life for both the village, and Sarutobi, many times over.

"Your mission, is to firstly train Uzumaki Naruto for the next month. This will go down as one S-ranked assignment in itself. For the second part of this mission, you are to protect Uzumaki Naruto whilst he is both in and outside of this village. Any questions before I proceed to explain the mission parameters in more detail?"

This was not what she had been expecting. She naturally wouldn't say no, not after the emphasis the Sandaime had placed on its importance. She also knew why she had been selected to undertake this mission. She had already spent six years in ANBU protecting the child, and had formed some kind of attatchment to him, even though they had never actually met face to face. But, she suspected the reasoning behind choosing her was more to do with the fact that she bore no grudges against the boy. Not to mention the fact that she had noticed similarities between Naruto and a certain village leader, and when confronted the Sandaime had simply said,

'What a ridiculous suggestion. And even if it was true, such information would be an S-ranked secret.'

It wasn't the words the Hokage had spoken that gave it away, but rather the ten foot grin he wore where his mouth should have been.

Despite this, she had her doubts. She had never taught before, and had no idea how she would go about it. Not only that, but she didn't have a clue what Naruto's ability level was and so had no idea what she should teach him.

"Hokage-sama, what exactly would I be expected to teach Uzumaki-san?"

"Ah, I will explain that when I talk about the mission parameters in more detail. Was that your only question?"

Yuugao nodded once more, and the Hokage smiled. He was giving her plenty of time to turn down the mission, but she showed no sign of wishing to say no.

"So for the first part of the mission you will be expected to tutor Uzumaki Naruto for the coming month. Currently, his academy report states that his skills are way below average in most of the shinobi arts. He has not been able to learn any taijutsu style, his ninjutsu is non-existant and genjutsu is completely out of his reach due to awful chakra control. Finally, his basic acedemic knowledge is quite frankly appalling." Sarutobi breathed out slowly before continuing.

"However, he has an incredible amount of chakra at his disposal. And his notorious ability to prank, and evade capture display his aptitude for on the spot planning and strategising. On top of that, last night as you know; he broke into the Hokage Tower, evaded countless ANBU scrolls and escaped with one of the most highly guarded treasures here. What you may not know however is that he mastered a B-ranked Kinjutsu in under an hour."

Yuugao had to prevent herself from gaping at the last sentance. It was absolutely incredible that a twelve year old academy student could pull that off, especially one considered a 'dead-last'.

"Now Yuugao-san, what does that tell you about the academy reports?"

"It could mean that they are outrightly wrong, which is highly unlikely. Or, it could mean that Uzumaki-san education was being intentionally stunted."

Sarutobi nodded grimly at the conclusion he had reached the night before.

"Now I understand that is far too much for you to cover in one month. So instead of working on his most glaring faults and weaknesses, I want you to work on giving him am advantage, much like a clan technique would. The B-ranked kinjutsu Naruto learnt was the Kage Bunshin. I believe that with a certain amount of thought and consideration, the use of Kage Bunshin in conjunction with his almost limitless chakra supply, could be utilised to create a taijutsu style that is both unique and lethal."

Yuugao nodded in understanding. With the blonde's chakra capacity, using a highly co-ordinated Kage Bunshin taijutsu style would not only be plausible, but should the correct amounts of time and effort be put in, it was potentially devastating.

"Should we be aiming to turn this into a formal, recorded style, Hokage-sama?"

"That is mostly up to Naruto, as it would be his own style." The Sandaime replied before adding, "although, it would be useful for later on if that were to happen"

"How about Nin or Genjutsu?"

The Hokage paused before answering, looking slightly reluctant.

"Whilst I would love to be able to indulge the boy in Ninjutsu, I feel that most would be out of his reach because of his poor chakra control. As a result, I believe that is the other thing I want you to work on with him. Work on getting his control up to par. There is a large probability his Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi".

Yuugao's eyes widened slightly in understanding. Kakashi was reknowned for his mastery in ninjutsu making him the perfect teacher for that area; but there was more to it than that, the Sandaime was giving Kakashi the chance to teach his sensei's son.

"Moving on to the second mission objective, the protection of Uzumaki Naruto both inside and out of the village. Normally with Kakashi his sensei, this wouldn't be necessary. However, later today I have a meeting with Naruto. There I will discuss whether or not he wishes to release information with regards to his heritage. Should it be decided that the information will be released to the general public, Naruto _will _become a target."

Yuugao was stunned. Iwa and Kumo were both famous for their disdain for the Yellow Flash, and they alone were a significant threat. This was before you counted the endless enemies the Yondaime made amongst the criminal underworld.

"However, this is a seperate mission from training Naruto. I have two other candidates who I trust enought to carry this out. If you are to accept this mission, I will require your commitment in improing your own skills, in order to be able to combat any threats that come Naruto's way." The Hokage paused before looking straight into Yuugao's eyes.

"Do you accept the S-ranked assignment of training Uzumaki Naruto? You will be paid accordingly throughout the duration of the mission. Also, as it is an S-ranked mission, the details are confidential to all but you and myself." The Sandaime asked, his voice taking on a commanding tone that didn't quite fit the aging man behind the desk.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Yuugao replied, slightly unnerved by the fact his gaze never once wavered as she answered.

"Do you also accept the long term assignment of protecting Uzumaki Naruto from harm until otherwise stated by the current Hokage? You will be paid for a long term S-ranked assignment, and a special commendation will appear on your record upon completion."

It took Yuugao slightly longer to answer the Kage this time, but in truth she had already made up her mind.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I accept"

**This was a bit of a background chapter. I needed to introduce Yuugao, and part of the Sandaime's plans for Naruto. (oh no, he definately isn't finished yet.) Next chapter will reveal a bit more about the conversation directly after the Mizuki incident. He will also start training with Yuugao, and learning with Iruka. **

**I also wanted to take the time out to thank people who have reviewed so far, I really appreciate any response, negative or not. A special mention goes to notgonnasay09, who reviewed both of my chapters so far. Also, there was a comment about the Shiki Fuin seal. My understanding of it was that the previous Jinchuurikis were sealed using different seals, and that Shiki Fuin was a seal of Minato's own creation. More specifically the gradual filtering of Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto's own, it required a newborn baby with undeveloped chakra coils for it to work. I could be wrong though.**


	4. Meeting with the Hokage!

_Chapter 4_

Naruto sat outside the Hokage's office anxiously fidgeting, seemingly unable to be still for more than a second. He was waiting for the Sandaime's current appointment to finish, so he could talk to him further about his heritage and the Kyuubi. All that had been said the previous night was merely confirming what Naruto had already found out from his Father. The Sandaime was especially adamant that the blonde knew he absolutely was in no way, the Kyuubi itself.

However, the Hokage had left him both confused and worried about what was going to happen in this meeting. The old man had spent the entire time the previous night, going from looking downright angry to incredibly sad, as Naruto recounted the events of that night, and the reasons behind his thoughts at the time. Although the blonde didn't quite understand why the Sandaime was reacting to his explanation in the way he was, this wasn't what troubled him the most. It was what the Hokage had said as the meeting finished. It was after he had been dismissed and wished a good night, and was on his way out of office, just closing the heavy double doors behind him as he left when he heard the Sandaime mumble in an unusually serious tone.

"There are going to be some long overdue changes in this village. I wont stand for the blatant defilement of a hero's dying wishes any longer."

Initially, Naruto began to conjure up thoughts of the Sandaime ordering the execution of 'The Demon'. But as quickly as the thought had slithered into his mind, it was crushed by his own faith in the old man. Regardless, it was a fairly ominous statement and it had Naruto wondering at the possibilities.

Fortunately, he was not left to wonder for very long, as his thoughts were interrupted by the tell-tale creaking of the the Hokage's office doors. Naruto looked up in curiosity, to catch a glampse of the person that the Hokage had been having such a long meeting with, and was immediately drawn to the womans striking purple hair. He could tell she was a shinobi, both by the Hitai-ate strapped round her left bicep, and the pure white grip of a katana emerging from behind her right shoulder.

She noticed him looking, and smiled at him as she walked, causing Naruto to double take.. It was relatively unheard of for a citizen of Konoha that he never met before to smile at him as they passed. In fact, he was pretty sure only Iruka-sensei and the Hokage had done that before.

So surprised was he, that by the time he had gathered his thoughts enough to smile back, the woman had already passed by. However before he could dwell on it, he heard a familiar voice beckon him into the office. He got up, and put on his best grin to hide his slight anxiety.

* * *

Yuugao couldn't prevent the frown from appearing on her face, after seeing Naruto outside of the Hokage's office. He was so taken surprised just because she smiled at him? It wasn't right.

She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt at the fact that she hadn't done anymore for him, especially even after she had worked out who his parents were. She could only hope that Kushina-sensei would forgive her.

* * *

"But Oji-san, I thought you said it was a secret?"

"It was made a secret for your own protection. Your Father had made many enemies as the Yellow Flash, and most would still be eager to take a shot at him through his only child. However, you are now a Genin, and about to move on to the next stage of your shinobi training where you will be under the supervision of an experienced Jonin. This should deter most potential threats." The Sandaime explained, his eyes monitering Naruto's reaction carefully.

Naruto frowned. It would mean that finally, he had some chance of at least parially, gaining the acceptance he had craved for as long as he could remember. A large part of him was screaming for him to say yes to the Hokage that moment, and bask in any new-found acceptance. However an even larger part had another concern about revealing his heritage.

"I dunno. I wanna say yes, so I can get the village to recognise me as the super awesome ninja I am,-" The Sandaime had to bit back a slight chuckle, but could not prevent a warm grin from making it's way across his face. "But, I wouldn't feel like I _earned_ it."

Sarutobi had to stop his mouth from hanging at that. He hadn't expected that at all from Naruto. Ironically, considering who his Father was, and his experiences with the child so far, he should have known better.

"Naruto, you have _more_ than earned a little acknowledgement from Konoha. The way you have been treated since you were born is unnacceptable, yet you have weathered anything thrown at you with a smile and a promise to change their opinions. Not once have you shown anger or aggression towards any citizen no matter how much you were provoked. Case in point, I know exactly why you wear that jumpsuit Naruto. And you know it's not because of the colour."

The blonde opened his mouth to argue that orange was a kick-ass colour, which he truly believed; but a stern look from the Hokage told him that the old man already knew the _other _reason Naruto wore the poor excuse for a shinobi outfit. Whilst no-one had been outright violent against him, that didn't stop people from trying. The stupid ones were dealt with by ANBU; however, a more subtle form of causing the blonde harm was concocted. Rather than outright attack him, they sabotaged his chances as shinobi. Academy teachers damaged his learning, and poor quality gear was sold to Naruto intentionally. He wasn't aware of the majority of this, as it was well under the radar so to speak.

One man, however was not quite so sly. He refused to serve Naruto the clothes he wanted to buy outright, and instead presented him with the jumpsuit. Telling him "Maybe a foreign shinobi will use you for kunai practice! Wearing that thing there'll be nowhere to run and no way to hide!" Naruto had typically retorted with all his normal brashness and bravado, and had stubbornly refused to wear anything else. He would 'be so good, I won't need to run or hide!'

Despite his words, what the man said had hurt. It still did, yet he refused to give up on proving the man wrong. He stole a glance up at the Sandaime only to go back to staring at the floor in a split second. The old man was still looking at him with that knowing look, just daring him to argue. He didn't know how the Hokage knew about that, let alone seen through his bravado; but he did, and he had, and Naruto could find no way of arguing with the Sandaime beore the elderly Kage resumed speaking.

"Besides, I know you're intelligent enough to realise that the entire village will not miraculously grant you their unconditional adoration. More likely, it would mostly level the playing field so to speak. Rather than outright dislike you, you would have the oppurtunity to earn the villages respect."

Naruto frowned as he leant back in his chair. He couldn't argue with the Sandaime on any of his points; yet he didn't feel particularly comfortable thinking about what the old man was suggesting. It felt far too much like _cheating. _Naruto nearly sighed again before realising just how much he would sound like Sasuke if he did. Eventually, he came to a decision. He looked straight into the Hokage's eyes, and nodded cautiously before speaking.

"Okay Oji-san, if you think thats what I should do then I trust you. We'll tell the village about my Father on one condition..."

Sarutobi couldn't prevent the surprise from showing on his face, as Naruto yet again came out with the unexpected. He subconsciously edged to the edge of his seat as he awaited Naruto's terms.

"...You have to promise to hand over that hat! And...treat me to all the ramen I can eat at Ichiraku's!"

The Hokage instinctively palmed his wallet, and clutched it protectively, before an idea formed in his mind.

"But Naruto, if I were to make you Hokage now; you would be too busy doing boring paperwork to train with the new sensei I found for you..."

The blonde's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the Sandaime's words. If he was getting a sensei, the that would mean Jutsu! Real, kick-ass Jutsu like shooting fireballs or making lightning shoot from his fingers! But then he had another thought, as he remembered his time at the ramen stand earlier that day. His taijutsu was shocking, as was his overall ninjutsu. However, he had already realised that despite his wishes to learn more techniques, he needed more basic knowledge about chakra and more practise with seals before he could really start to learn jutsu, and even then it would be slow.

A sensei would be able to help him with taijutsu forms and katas, and before meeting with the Hokage he had already spoken to Iruka about having one to one lessons to improve his knowledge. Once he had gotten on par with the other children, then, was when he could begin to learn the awesome jutsu that he wanted.

Sarutobi watched the young shinobi before him go through the motions in his mond, seemingly having forgotten that the Hokage was even there. Naruto had obviously done some heavy thinking about his skills since the previous night's run-in with Mizuki. The Hokage was already aware of his new arrangement with Iruka, which both surprised and pleased him in equal measure. And as he watched Naruto force back his obvious excitement at the oppurtunity to learn new jutsu (a craving Sarutobi recognised well after having trained both Jiraiya and Orochimaru), and truly think about the training he actually needed, he couldn't help but feel proud that the growth that the boy was showing.

"Ah, I thought you might be interested in that piece of news. You're new sensei is to train you up for the next month in preparation for your placement into a genin cell." The Hokage watched as Naruto's levels of excitement began to rise once more. "You will meet, and begin working with your new sensei in three days time, as she needs adequate time to prepare a schedule for you."

"She?" Naruto asked, obviously slightly put out that they could not get started right away.

"Yes Naruto, a she. Her name is Uzuki Yuugao and she is an ex-ANBU operative, which means she is incredibly skilled and not to be taken lightly, understand?"

The blonde nodded, slightly awed by what the Hokage had just told him.

"Now then, we will discuss the details of revealing you parentage later on. You are to meet Yuugao at Training Ground 56 in three days. In the mean time, I believe you have an appointment with a certain academy teacher to be getting to..."

Sarutobi chuckled out loud as Naruto hurriedly excused himself and rushed out of his office, nearly flattening the secretary on the way out.

"Hokage-sama, it's word from one of Jiraiya-sama's toads."

The brunette stepped aside as a small toad hopped from behind her into the room, and left, shutting the doors behind her. Sarutobi turned his gaze to the amphibian, indicating for it to speak.

"Jiraiya says he is returning home to meet with you personally. It's about Uzumaki Naruto."

Sarutobi's eyes widened as the he heard the toads next words.

"Uzumaki Naruto...and Iwagakure."

* * *

_Two Days Later..._

Naruto sniggered as he layed on his back atop the Hokage monument, or more specifically, atop the head of one Namikaze Minato. It wasn't that he wanted to skip his appointment with Iruka today, it's just that he was absolutely certain that if he spent another minute listening to the scarred Chunin speak about the history of the hidden villages, he would hang himself on the spot. Two days, and three appointments was all it had taken to drive Naruto to this point. Iruka had started him right at the beginning of the academy curriculum, and had him work through it steadily. They were currently about half way through the first year, and already Naruto had cracked.

He had created a shadow clone to attend the lesson (not before violently dispelling two, who initially outright refused to do as they were told), whilst he had a day off to train and relax. He casually rose to his feet, and stretched slowly before trying to decide what to do next. Maybe he would head to the training ground he was supposed to meet his new sensei, so he didn't get lost trying to fi-

The blonde hissed at the pain that flared in his head, as his brain flooded with memories that didn't belong to him. Why did Iruka-sensei have to hit him on the head for? All he had done was pretend to fall asleep as he was talking about how the Nidaime Mizukage fought against the Sandaime, and lost because the Sandaime used his monkey summon...

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised _exactly_ where that memory had come from.

**I died a little inside writing this chapter. I promised training, Yuugao and action and failed to deliver on all three. And thus you have yet more build-up to Naruto's training. Next time I promise. I am already halfway through the next chapter so I can guarantee it. I also wanted to answer some of the comments in reviews, so without further ado:**

**Thomas-sama: Yeah, I think Fuuinjutsu is kinda one of Naruto's birthright's, so I plan to make him somewhat proficient at it at the very least. It won't however become a 'core' ability if you see what I mean. I plan to make Naruto slightly better than in canon, but not god-like. Just more well-rounded.**

**VanillaIce1: I do, although I don't know what I want yet. That's definately what I'd call 'one for later on'. Meaning possibly post time-skip. But then again...possibly not :P**

**InARealPickle: I completely agree. She has so much potential as a character, if only because we know nothing about her besides the fact she was with Hayate before he croaked. And it all gets wasted a lot of the time, with her ending up playing a bit-part in a harem of some kind. Also, thanks for the advice about the intro. I had a fiddle with it, but I'm not sure if its any better. But I appreciate that kind of constructive criticism.**


	5. The Secret of Kage Bunshin!

_Chapter 5_

Naruto was frozen in place, shellshocked as the possibilities of his new discovery rushed about in his mind. He had gained the actual memories of his clone! The first idea that came to his head was naturally, training. He quickly wondered if he not only gained the memories, but the _experience_ of the clones created by the Kage Bunshin. Would it work to improve his chakra control? Could he use it to help with the physical side of training.

Or was it simply memories, that he could use to study, without actually needing to personally study? Would it work with more than one clone at a time? He grinned widely as he placed his hands in the ram seal to experiment.

"Kage Bunshin no-" The jutsu was interrupted as Naruto felt a hand grab him by the ear and begin to drag him away from the Hokage Monument, literally kcking and screaming. "Gaah! What the hell?" He cried as he fought to gain a look at his assailant.

"'What the hell' is right!" What the hell were you doing sending a _Bunshin _to our appointment Naruto? I had your word that you wouldn't let me down!"

Naruto had no reply. Iruka-sensei was right. He had promised to take the lessons seriously, and he had broken that promise. It went against everything Naruto stood for. Not only had he broken a promise, it had been to one of the few people that truly cared about him, and Naruto had repaid that by betraying his trust.

The Chunin looked down at the blonde in front of him, staring at the ground dejectedly. He could quite plainly see that Naruto felt mortified about what he had done, Iruka had worded his accusation specifically to produce that result. Naruto needed to take this seriously, in order to be even slightly equal with the rest of the graduates. Even so, he couldn't help but feel guilty looking at the child he had come to see as something of a younger brother. He sighed out loud. He must be losing his ruthless streak as a shinobi from spending so much time at the academy.

"Listen, don't worry about it. We'll just go back now and cover the stuff again. And if you finish it all, I may just take you to Ichiraku's afterwards." Iruka watched the boy visibly perk up, before grinning as if he knew something that the Chunin didn't.

"Well, about that Iruka-sensei. I just found out something cool about the Kage Bunshin...

* * *

The Konoha Shinobi Library was completely abuzz with activity. Inside, in the Novice and Academy Student Section. A dozen orange blurs bounced from shelf to shelf, gathering up books that appeared useful. One solitary figure, was directing the veritible army of orange.

"You heard the boss! Look for the books that Iruka-sensei recommended. Three of you take stuff about chakra, three of you take history, three of you take the basic shinobi skills and the last group take basic strategy and tactics."

Even though he was answered with a chorus of grumbles and complaints, the clone that the original Naruto had left in charge was impressed with how impressive the clones were. If this worked as well as he thought it would, Iruka-sensei told him he could probably cover the entire academy curriculum in only a week! Originally, he was going to use more clones, but Iruka-sensei was really insistant that using loads of bunshin must have some negative side-effects, and he should ask the Hokage before using any more than the dozen he currently was.

Despite this, the clone was certain that the amount being used at the moment was enough to get the job done. He watched as the clones conquered the study tables in the room, and got to work, each taking a book from the enormous pile they had collected. Once satisfied the clones were working as they should, he turned to his attention to his own small pile of reading.

Whilst Naruto had pushed ninjutsu down on his list of priorities, it was still eternally fascinating to him. The things that could be accomplished were beyond belief, and even though Naruto knew he needed to improve heavily in other areas before he could begin to learn justu, he was still _curious._

So, as soon as he thought Iruka-sensei wasn't paying attention one clone was henged into a perfect copy of the Chunin and given orders to look in the area reserved for Chunin for basic ninjutsu scrolls. As a result this clone now held a selection of C-rank ninjutsu scrolls, and the task of committing as many as possible to memory so they could be learnt when he was ready.

The clone took a look at the pile before him, and picked a scroll at random.

'C-Rank: Fuuton Techniques'

The clone frowned slightly. It wasn't exactly as cool as fireball and lightning bolts, but there _had _to be something cool in there somewhere right?

* * *

Iruka couldn't help but be impressed at the possibilities of the Kage Bunshin that Naruto had uncovered. It was a pity more Konoha shinobi didn't have the chakra capacity that Naruto had so that the Kage Bunshin could be utilised correctly. After visiting the Hokage with Naruto about his discovery, they had decided to keep with a maximum of a dozen clones, much to Naruto's frustration.

But in turn Iruka had conceded to allow him to use the clones to study, whilst Naruto focused on something else. The clones would work independantly, but were under orders to dispel themselves if they encountered something that they didn't understand, or had a question. That way the original would be able to ask Iruka for help. They were also to periodically dispel at different intervals, both to ensure that they wouldn't run out of chakra, and also to prevent an information overload from dispelling them all at the end of the day, a danger the Sandaime had warned them of.

Iruka and the original Naruto had decided that since the clones were studying in his place the two could work on something else. The pair had decided that since naruto was going to be working with a new Sensei the following day, they wouldn't work on anything that would impose on any plans they would have for taijutsu or ninjutsu. As a result, the two were standing in the academy training grounds, having decided to work on chakra control.

"Naruto, I presume you're able to do the leaf excersise?" Iruka chuckled as Naruto nodded indignantly, outraged at what iruka was implying. Iruka just smiled before he continued. "Well then, what we are going to do is a simplified version of a ANBU training exersise." Naruto watched curiosly as Iruka produced a bag of ping-pong balls.

"Now, what I'm going do is throw several of these balls to you, and all you have to do is use chakra to catch them, and 'stick' them to you. The exercise gets harder and harder, the more balls I throw. We can treat it like a game, keep count of the amount of balls you can stick to you at once. Once you can stick five balls to you at once, I'll buy you one bowl of Ichiraku's. Once you can do ten, I'll buy you a second and so on. If you can make thirty by the end of the week I'll teach you a jutsu. Understand what you have to do?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. He could almost taste that Ramen, not to mention the fact he had the chance to learn a new jutsu. How hard could it be?

The blonde looked at Iruka, signalling that he was ready, and focused on the incoming ball and focused his chakra to his hand as the ball made contact. He grinned widely as the ball didn't fall to the ground. See! Easy right? He held up his other hand and began to focus his chakra in preparation for the second ball...

Only for him to lose control of the amount of chakra he was channeling to keep hold of the first, and the ball to propel away from his hand. In his dismay, he completely forgot the second ball, which bounced off of his bround and dropped in front of his feet.

Yep. Definitley easy...

* * *

_The Next Day_

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he headed towards Training Ground 56. Naruto had spent a long time exploring the village as a child, and as such knew that the training grounds were numbered for their purpose. Training grounds one through ten were strictly for Genin teams to use, eleven through twenty were generally used for ninjutsu and taijutsu, as well as sparring and twenty-one through thirty are for weapons practise. After that, the training grounds up to fifty were all reserved for environmental training, the most notorious being Training Ground 44. Otherwise known as The Forest of Death.

However, the remaining eight Training Grounds were all indoors and guarded by Chunin level shinobi. Because of this, Naruto had never actually seen inside of them, and therefore had no idea what to expect from his new sensei. The fact that what was done inside the grounds was kept secret and guarded was sure to mean that he was going to be doing something completely awesome, at least in his opinion. Which had him terribly excited to find out what he would be learning.

Suddenly, he felt a slight twinge in the back of his mind as clone's memories entered his mind. Naruto's grin spread slightly wider. His clone had finally fully memorised one of the jutsu from the Fuuton scroll. _Fuuton: Goukuuhou_. It looked completely kick-ass on paper, the only disadvantage being a slightly longer than usual seal sequence. The last three seals were used to keep what the dangerous wind chakra from damaging the user's mouth. This however, was something that Naruto could work around with practise.

What wasn't so easily workable was the fact his chakra control was still too poor for him to learn any C-rank jutsu. He had asked Iruka the previous day, what level should his chakra control be at for him to be able to learn a C-rank jutsu properly. Iruka-sensei had said that he should be able to 'stick' thirty balls consistently before he could use a C-rank jutsu to it's maximum potential; which was why he had offered to teach naruto a jutsu should he manage to get that far before the end of the week. It was only Monday, and as the blonde managed to get the hang of the excersise, he had steadily begun to progress. He had managed seven by the time they had decided to call it a day, and Iruka-sensei had promised him another control excersise to practice alongside the first, once he had finished his training with Yuugao.

The blonde picked up his pace as the indoor training grounds came into view. They were enormous buildings, tucked away on the eastern side of Konoha, out of the way of the rest of the village. They were semi-circular in shape, and the roof appeared to be corrugated iron. All in all, they were as formidable as he remembered them being, even though he was years older.

He slowed to a walk as he approached number 56. He showed the Chunin guarding the building's only entrance the vivid red permission slip, and continued on through the door. Once inside, the soon-to-be Genin, couldn't prevent a gasp from escaping his lips at what he saw. The floor was lined with lush looking synthetic grass that looked and felt entirely real. The only give away being how entirely perfectly kept it was, considering that this was a training ground. Over to his left was a small lake, with a small waterful running down a rockface which was gradually collecting algae. On his right, the grass abruptly came to an end about twenty metres away, and in it's place was a barren looking landscape decorated by several rock formations. The blonde child couldn't help but whistle at the scale of his surroundings.

"It's impressive isn't it?" Naruto whirled around to confront the voice, that seemed to have come from behind him; only to be confronted with the purple haired woman he had seen leave the Hokage's office a few days before-hand.

"Uzuki Yuugao. A pleasure to meet you."

**Awww and you thought you would get to see some training with Yuugao. I intended to get it into this chapter, but it just never read the way I wanted it to when I tried. **

**I attempted to be fairly original with my chakra control training, as _everyone_ does the leaf excersise, or tree climbing or even balancing kunai. I just wanted to avoid the overused stuff. Anyway, training with Yuugao begins next chapter and we learn the purpose of training ground 56.**

**Finally, as I've mentioned some ninjutsu in this chapter here's a summary for you.**

**Name: **Fuuton: Goukuuhou (Wind Release: Great Air Cannon)

**Rank: **C - Rank

**Description: **The user blows a sphere of air out of his/her mouth like a cannon, in order to cause medium amounts of damage. If the user has mastered elemental manipulation, using fuuton chakra greatly increases the damage the technique can cause.


	6. Beginnings of Training!

_Chapter 6_

_Previously:_

"_It's impressive isn't it?" Naruto whirled around to confront the voice, that seemed to have come from behind him; only to be confronted with the purple haired woman he had seen leave the Hokage's office a few days before-hand._

_"Uzuki Yuugao. A pleasure to meet you."_

* * *

Naruto paused panting slightly, whilst uncharacteristically considering his next move. His new Sensei was good. Like, really good. They had been sparring for around twenty minutes now and he hadn't managed to land even _one_ hit on the the woman. She was relentless too. Constantly pushing him, probing him for weaknesses in his form and forcing mistakes from him every time he went on the offensive. And not a single error or slip in his defences went unpunished either. Every time he presented an opening it was ruthlessly taken advantage of. Quite frankly he was running out of ideas, and already he could feel the slow onset of fatigue; a relatively alien feeling, and one that he hadn't been forced to experience too many times before.

Uzuki Yuugao, on the oher hand had an entirely diferent train of thoughts. On the outside, the polite smile she seemingly always wore when her face was not covered by an ANBU mask, was kept firmly in place; refusing to slip as she seamlessly blocked aloppy attack after sloppy attack from the blonde in front of her. It was a wonderfully easy way of masking her emotions, as the smile fitted her physique and demeanor perfectly. Whilst wearing that smile she was the docile, polite and kind girl that never had a bad word to say about anybody that was constantly underestimated by enemy shinobi.

After all, how could a harmless little girl like her be a capable shinobi?

That of course was before the enemy realised that same 'harmless little girl' had just driven a katana through their chest cavity, brutally puncturing a lung before leaving them to drown in their own blood.

So it was fair to say that over her relatively long (for a shinobi, anyway) career, she had perfected that smile and mastered it, until it was just as much of a weapon as her katana. This of course meant that she was incredibly good at keeping that smile from cracking due to her emotions, no matter how strong they were.

And make no mistake, despite the frustratingly placid smile she religiously worked to maintain as she sparred Naruto, Uzuki Yuugao was furious. So furious in fact, that the smile had on more than one occasion nearly fell from it's place as she carefully analysed the blonde's movements. It was blindingly obvious to her, that he had been sabotaged. The taijutsu he was using was sloppy, almost like a street brawler as opposed to a shinobi. But it was not down to him not having memorised the forms he had been taught, or that he had not worked hard enough to make what he had learnt instinctive. His combat instinct wsa spot on too. He recognised the makings of attacks very quickly and instantly moved to counter. Only to find that he could not move in the way he wanted to, or that his body was in the wrong position to defend himself.

His taijutsu was as butchered as the Academy records told her. But it had not been butchered by Naruto. All the signs were there, she could see where the 'corrections' to the standard Academy forms had taken place. Things that would seem unimportant to Naruto as he learnt in practise, but they were things that in combat could mean the difference between life and death. Things like how his left foot was angled ten degrees further right than it should have been, preventing him from being able to pivot effectively.

It was quite monstrous really. They had actively altered Naruto's taijutsu in order to get him killed in the field, and she was willing to bet most of Naruto's other deficiencies could be put down to sabotage. However, this left an entirely new problem. Naruto had worked incredibly hard to make these forms almost instinct, just as he should have done. Which now meant he was going to have to un-learn it, which was both a difficult and time-consuming process. He would have to practise anything she taught him, use it in spars, until it became more instinctual than what he had already learnt.

"Okay, Naruto-san. You may stop now, I have seen enough." Yuugao said, as she eyed the slightly winded boy in front of her. His stamina was good, but clearly needed work on.

"Yuugao-sensei, you don't need to bother with all that formal stuff. I don't really like it all that much."

"But Uzumaki-san, that would be improper..." She answered, eliciting a loud groan from the blonde. "...But if you insist, then I will stick to Naruto for the moment." She paused, waiting for the boy to realise she had been teasing him, and continued just as he figured it out. "Now then what did you think of our little spar?"

The blonde in front of her didn't need too long to come up with an answer.

"Well my taijutsu sucks, I couldn't land a hit on you! I was too slow to react every time you attacked, I could tell you were gunna, and then well... I couldn't move into the right position to do anything about it!"

"You're actually more right than you realise. You're basic form is all wrong, and it is preventing your body from reacting as quickly as you want it to. I was fighting at a Genin level, you should have been able to do much better."

"But I made sure my forms were all right! I spent ages with the taijutsu instructor getting them right!" Naruto protested angrily.

"I'm sure you did Naruto. Tell me, who was you're taijutsu instructor at the academy?" Yuugao prompted, already having guessed the answer.

"It was Mizu-" Naruto stopped as the realisation hit him. Mizuki had intentionally messed up his taijutsu! All because of that bastard fox! The voice of Yuugao-sensei distracted him from his thoughts, and he turned his attention to what she was saying.

"Don't worry too much about it Naruto. This is why I'm here remember. Perhaps I had better tell you about the secret purpose of these guarded training grounds."

Naruto perked up instantly, he had been curious about why they had come here as opposed to one of the other, easier to access grounds.

"These grounds are used by shinobi for one of two reasons. Firstly, they are used by small clans who do not have private training grounds, in order to secretly practise their family techniques. Secondly, they are used by shinobi who are developing their own techniques and need to field test them in secret to prevent others from stealing or copying them. In a village that used to have dojutsu such as the Sharingan, areas such as these became a necessity to ensure privacy."

Naruto's eyes widened as he caught on to what his new sensei was telling him.

"So, after realising that it would be incredibly difficult to find an existing style that would suit you; the Hokage decided that I would help you come up with a style unique to you. Hence, the secret training grounds. We can't have any one stealing your work now, can we?"

Naruto shook his head furiously in disagreement.

His own, totally unique taijutsu style? Yuugao-sensei was _awesome_!

* * *

The Sandaime breathed out a steady stream of smoke as he contemplated how one Uzumaki Naruto was getting along with his new sensei. He had already been impressed with Naruto's progress over the past three days. He had discovered the secret behind the Kage Bunshin on the very first day, and had used it incredibly effectively to catch up on what he had missed on the academy. Thus, he had been able to use his time with Iruka to improve his chakra control.

He had also been impressed with the amount of maturity that Naruto had shown. He had identified his weakest areas; and had, if somewhat reluctantly, worked furiously to improve himself. But that was not all. Naruto was still twelve years old, and ninjutsu was still ninjutsu. The Hokage had of course been aware of the blonde's extra-curricular ninjutsu studies, and had seen how the boy had not only limited himself to C-rank techniques and resisted the urge to head straight for A-ranks jutsu; but he had done nothing more that memorise what he read, until he had developed the appropriate control for the jutsu in question.

Fuuton: Goukuuhou, a C-rank wind technique developed by Sarutobi Asuma. However what is not commonly know was that the Yondaime, had spent an entire year just before he became Hokage with various shinobi of note, developing ninjutsu with them. Asuma had been, one of those shinobi Minato had worked with, and Fuuton: Goukuuhou was the only C-rank jutsu the duo had come up with; instead focusing on producing a slew of A-rank Fuuton jutsu. It was practically his birthright to learn it.

"I've just seen something very interesting at Training Ground 56."

Sarutobi looked up tiredly to see his student jumping down from his usual perch on the window.

"Ah, Jiraiya. You finally came."

* * *

"What the hell is the point of this again?" The Naruto clone grumbled, his hands fixed into the single ram seal required from the Kage Bunshin.

"You understand the basis of the style we're going to try to create, correct?" Yuugao questioned, patience not faltering, despite the fact that this wasn't the first time one of the Kage Bunshin she was working with had complained.

"Yeah, it's going to be based on using pairs of Kage Bunshin to create a flexible and maneuverable style that combines power, speed and unpredictability." The clone replied in a sing-song voice, almost as if it was reading from a book.

"Correct. Now, how much control do you have over where your Kage Bunshin appear?"

"Almost none." The clone answered, knowing it had already been defeated. He watched as Yuugao's grin became slightly smug.

"Control over when and where your Bunshin appear is vitally important for this to work. That is where you come in, you are to practice focusing on where the bunshin appear in relation to the original. The second clone, is working on being able to delay how quickly the bunshin appears, allowing for even more unpredictability, a key element to the style you are trying to create."

The Bunshin muttered and grumbled under his breath, and whilst Yuugao suspected what was said wasn't exactly polite, the clone got back to work, focus, at least momentarily, renewed.

She glanced over to the original Yuugao, who was working with another slightly larger group of energetic blondes, teaching pairs of them a single 'set move'. This was the term she gave to the fundamental movements in almost all taijutsu styles, basic punches kicks and blocks; the building blocks of hand to hand combat. Naturally, he took to this far easier than he did perfecting the nuances of the Kage Bunshin, it's benefits were far more apparent. All the same, it was astonishing how quickly he learned when he set his mind to it.

* * *

"You're seriously thinking about putting on a team with Kakashi _and_ the Uchiha?" The Sannin inquired, as if the mere suggestion of doing so was entirely ludicrous.

"It's the best team for him. We can't break up other, cohesive units just for Naruto's benefit. It would destroy their functionality. Where else would he fit Jiraiya?" the Hokage questioned, an unusual glint in his eye; as if he had just come up with something thoroughly cunning and evil. By the way he was openly smirking at him, Jiraiya wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Sensei, Uchiha Sasuke is an exact mirror of my bastard of a team mate. I would bet all the smut in the world on him going the same way. Itachi wasn't even half as arrogant as that kid is, that in itself kills any chances of those two developing any kind of teamwork. Sure, Naruto would try and form a bond, but the Uchiha would never reciprocate it in the same way. On top of that, you've got Kakashi'. He's under duress from the grizzled old bastard Danzou, as well as half of the damned village; to focus on Sasuke, even at the expense of his other team-mates. It's not the kids fault, and i know all too well that he chomping at the bit to teach Naruto; but Naruto isn't as stupid as he comes across, he'll spot what he perceives as favoritism almost instantly. it just doesn't work."

"Neither does putting him anywhere else Jiraiya. The Ino-Shika-Cho combination is completely impractical to separate, and kurenai's team of the Hyuuga, Inuzuka and Aburame is pretty much perfectly balanced for a recon team. Team 7 isn't just the logical choice, it's the only choice." The Sandaime took a breath as he looked at the growing frustration on his former student's face. He cared so much for the boy, but had always found a reason as to why he couldn't get involved with him. Sarutobi suspected that it was initially his grieving that prevented him from taking in his godson, who bore such a striking resemblance to his father. then, as time passed; and Naruto's life became progressively worse, it was guilt that kept the Sannin away. That and the fear of rejection. Which was entirely natural when you thought about how Naruto could potentially perceive events.

No matter, it was time for him to go in for the kill.

"Of course someone could take the boy as an apprentice..."

Jiraiya looked like he had just been winded. He opened his mouth repeatedly, before closing it immediately after, genuinely lost for words.

"Naturally, the council would fervently oppose such a suggestion; but there would be nothing they could if, say, one of the _Sannin_ wanted to." Sarutobi placed a great emphasis on the word Sannin, driving his point even further home. Finally jiraiya had collected his thoughts enough to actually speak.

"Absolutely no way! I can't teach him, what about the spy network? Someone needs to keep an eye on Orochimaru. Besides, I swore I wouldn't take another pupil after Minato, and I meant it. The kid would probably hate me anyway, once he learns what I am to him." Jiraiya paused, somewhat startled that the last sentence had left his mouth. "I just...can't. If there's nothing else, sensei; I need a drink"

Jiraiya didn't wait for confirmation before leaping from the window by which he entered. Sarutobi didn't stop smirking. He _knew_ his pupil would come around.

**I am firmly of the belief that Jiraiya = win. Kishimoto was a bastard to kill him off. Anyway, we get to see some training with Yuugao, and hopefully I managed to get across the personality I had in mind. I am vaguely aware that she is acting rather different from how she does in canon, but in canon Hayate had just died, so go figure.**

**Here are some answers to some reviews while I remember:**

**InARealPickle: I'm fairly sure that Sasuke had pretty good chakra control at the beginning of the manga. Better than Naruto's at any rate. But regardless, Kage Bunshin is only ranked as a B because of the obsene amount of chakra it uses, same with the fireball jutsu. The 'C-ranked techs require x amount of control' I mentioned was only a guide. Some C-ranks require less, some more. But I didn't want Naruto suddenly learning thousands of jutsu. I want to pace his growth more.**

**dracopoet: Unfortunately it won't. I like smut as much as the next guy, but I dont think I'd be any good at writing it. There'll be one pairing at the most, which is entirely up for debate.**


	7. The 'Chikyū no Terāzu'

_Chapter 7_

_Three Weeks Until Team Assignments_

A nameless shinobi leapt to the branch of the next tree, and paused to gather himself. His eyes darting around, scanning his surroundings for the terrifying enemy he was being hunted by.

Because he was under no illusions. The shinobi that attacked him was a predator, and he was most definately the prey.

He had manged to get his breathing under control, and the level of adrenaline pumping around his body had dipped to the point where he could feel the searing pain that the wound caused by the opening attack from the enemy shinobi. It was a deep gash into his lower abdomen, and it was only his reflexes, honed by years as a ninja that had saved his life.

It was an earth jutsu, he had seen that much. But it was different. Most earth jutsu were relatively slow, used for thir power, rather than finesse. But this jutsu had been frighteningly fast, erupting from the ground below him almost faster than his eye could follow; in an attempt to spear him directly through the abdomen.

This had been what had confused him, initially. The attack hadn't been intended to kill, merely to grievously wound him, preventing his escape. He was a Jonin, a fairly experienced one at that, and realised he was needed for information.

This was the only reason he kept up his attempts to escape. The enemy wanted information about his village, information to use against his home. He was more than ready to accept death at the hands of a superior ninja. What he wasn't willing to do was to put the lives of his comrades at risk, or the safety of his village. And so he fled. As fast as he could.

However, he was still too far away from Konoha. He wouldn't make it back without help. The shinobi ground his teeth together, he could feel that malicious chakra that had been hounding him draw near, at an almost casual pace. He lowered into a crouch, ready to begin running once again. Suddenly, he leapt from the branch he was resting on, his instincts screaming at him as he dodged the lone kunai that slammed into the branch he had been standing on, splintering it with the force of the impact.

He was so tired. It was all he could think about. The burning in his legs. The way his arms were totally void of strength. The wound in his side that was gradually leaking increasing amounts of his blood. All contributed to his exhaustion. He let out piercing scream as the stone pillars pierced each of his limbs, mid-jump. He wavered at the edge of consiousness, struggling to stave off the black that threatenend to envelope him. He wanted to see this man's face, his headband. He needed to know the identity of the beast that had ruthlessly hunted him.

He knew there was no escape from his predator. He knew he would die by this man's violent hands. He also knew he would tell the man _nothing_ that he wanted to know.

"Doton: Ishi Yari complete." A gravelly voice called smugly from the shadows, as three silhouettes emerged from the surroundings.

"Pft. Why waste such a technique on a Konoha dog like him?" The silhouette to the left of the first speaker questionned.

A childish giggle rang throught the otherwise silent clearing.

"Awwww Mayumi-chan is jealous because she can't do elelmental ninjutsu!" The sing-song voice called out accusingly, from the right hand side of the central figure.

"Shut. Up." The first speaker snapped, causing the other two to snap to attention. "We have more imoprtant things to concerned about".

The first man fored the tiger seal, causing the stone pillars to sink into the ground; leaving their captive at waist level.

The small figure the right stepped forward out of the shadows towards the trapped Jonin, revealing a small child, her vibrant pink eyes standing out in their relatively dark surroundings.

"Hey! Can you help me find a friend? His name's Uzumaki Naruto! You know where he is? All I wanna do is **play!**" The man's eyes widened as he felt his surroundings melt away into total blackness, whilst the childs voice morphed into a gargled noise, that sounded like it came from the depths of hell itself.

**" Kyoki no Hoyo: Tamashi no Kokuhaku"**

The shinobi's tortured screams echoed through the forests surrounding Konoha, for what seemed like hours, before fading as he finally died.

* * *

"Whaddya mean 'seal-less jutsu'?" Naruto asked whilst scratching the top of his head, his face scrunched in confusion.

Yuugao frowned, as he saw yet another example of Naruto's lack of basic education. The theory behind seal-less jutsu had been covered in the fourth year of the Academy. Whilst Naruto had been catching up at an incredible rate, he was still mid-way through the third year of the curriculum. An incredible feat, considering he had only been at it for a week.

Admittedly, his success was partially down to a little-known fact about the shadow clone that was one of the reasons the technique was so chakra intensive. The clones the technique produces, have a single-minded focus on the task given to them by the creator. The clones Naruto had been created, lacked Naruto's short attention span and poor concentration.

"You've covered chakra memory, correct?" Yuugao questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah! It was really boring though, it took my clones a whole day to understand everything in the books."

"Well, it is a rather tricky concept, even at a basic level. Anyway, seal-less jutsu work using chakra memory. You see, you don't actually need hand-seals to perform ninjutsu. They are a time saving technique, as well as meaning that shinobi don't have to perfect mastery over their chakra in order to perform jutsu. First, you have to concentrate on the way your chakra moulds as you form the seals. You need to concentrate on exactly how it feels as the chakra moulds. You follow me so far Naruto?"

The blonde nodded slowly attempting to process the information he had been given. He had improved in his knowledge over the week, however his practical comprehension of the knowledge needed to be improved. After all, it was one thing to read about doing something; but another thing to actually do it in real life.

Finally, Naruto nodded more firmly to indicate his understanding, before asking a question.

"Yuugao-sensei, what's the difference between chakra control and chakra mastery?"

Yuugao's smile grew slightly as Naruto asked his question, not only did him asking indicate he was taking in what she was teaching him; but it told her he was understanding it, at least as well as any other Genin would.

"Good question Naruto. Essentially, chakra control is one aspect of chakra mastery. I don't think there has ever been a shinobi with complete mastery over their chakra, even though some attain near perfect chakra control. Chakra control itself is how efficiently we use our chakra. Using only what we need with no waste."

Naruto nodded once more, already understanding the concept of chakra control from his studies.

"However chakra mastery, is the ability to manipulate your chakra at will. Moulding chakra internally with no effort or seals; or using it externally as a weapon. With perfect chakra mastery, in theory, it should be possible to mould chakra in ways that hand-seals could never achieve, meaning that jutu could be created with almost limitless possibilities."

Naruto was positively star-struck, as Yuugao explained chakra mastery in more detail. It sounded _awesome._

"It is said that the your Father, the Yondaime, reached an incredibly high level of chakra mastery. So high that he was able to project seals externally using just his chakra."

Naruto gaped at that. He was no expert on Fuuinjutsu, the Academy basics covered storage scrolls, and exploding tags. He also knew, after some extra reading, that his Father held the title of Sealmaster. A prestigious shinobi title that was recognised all through the elemental nations, on par with Sannin, and even Kage. The Yondaime had developed a way of utilising the more powerful seals in mid-battle, without the use of scrolls or ink, an unthinkable feat.

"Obviously, practising to perform jutsu without hand seals, is a small step towards developing such a high level of chakra mastery. It will be a long while before you can utilise techniques on par with the Yondaime."

Naruto grinned at the former ANBU, looking ever confident and assured.

"Yeah, but I gotta start somewhere right?"

"Of course. Now form some Kage Bunshin. Use only two or three, but use far more chakra to create them than usual, that way each Bunshin will be able to use Kage Bunshin in order to ty and get the feel of how the chakra moulds. You'll need to replace the first set of Bunshin regularly, as they will be expending their chakra incredibly fast."

Naruto nodded in understanding, before Yuugao continued.

"You will only practice this for a little while, as it will deplete your own chakra incredibly fast." She continued, making sure Naruto wasn't about to start complaining about having his training time limited, before going on. "As for you and me, we'll be moving on from basic taijutsu into beginning work on the first stages of your new style, beginning with the stances."

The blonde's eyes widened in excited anticipation. He was _finally_ gunna start work on _his own_ style.

* * *

The Sandaime levelled his old student with a hard gaze. Anyone as knowledgable as him could tell Jiraiya was standing awkwardly on his left leg, and was clearly in no small amount of discomfort.

"What the hell, happened Jiraiya?"

The Sandaime hadn't meant to speak as harshly as he had, but he couldn't help it. He was no fool, and held no arrogance about his own abilities. Jiraiya had surpassed him long ago, and anyone that could manage to wound him in such a way was a clear threat to Konoha.

"I was on my way out of Konoha, and close enough that I got lax."

There was no small amount of anger in the Sannin's voice, down to his injury or him having to return to the village on a more permanent basis. Which one, Sarutobi couldn't tell.

"I got trapped in an extrememly advanced genjutsu, and ambushed."

This had the Sandaime on edge, moreso than he was already. "I broke the genjutsu fairly easily once I remembered how. It wasn't fast enough to avoid taking a glancing hit from a Doton jutsu, however."

"Iwa then?"

"No, missing-nin from Iwa though." The Sannin replied wearily.

"Ah, you know of them then?"

"Hai, we _encountered_ one another in the Third Shinobi War. They had Minato and his cute little Genin team on the ropes the first time we met. I had to bail them out."

"They?" The Sandaime was almost afraid to ask. Ninja capable of facing the 'Yellow Flash' as equals were ninja Konoha was not equipped to face. Jiraiya it seemed, had read his mind.

"Don't worry too much. Don't forget, at that time, he was covering two completely green Genin and an arrogant Chunin. However, that's not to say these are a shinobi to be trifled with."

"Who are they, and how capable are they Jiraiya?" The Sandaime pressed, growing ever more agitated, despite the Sannin's attempt at assuaging his worries.

"They are called the 'Chikyū no Terāzu'; and they gained their fame as Jonin for Iwa in the War. They were loyal to Iwa until the Tsuchikage refused to make an open move against Naruto. Ability wise, I'd say they were more than a match for Kakashi at his best."

The Sandaime reached for his pipe, a reflex when his stress levels were particularly high.

"Are they an imminent threat?"

Jiraiya brought his hand to his face in consideration, before shaking his head.

"I made it clear I will be remaining in Konoha. And they're not arrogant. They know they can't beat me now I know they're around. They'll pull back and figure a way to get at him, they'll take their time about it too. I'd say they won't be a threat for a while, unless they come up with some kind of trump card."

Sarutobi let out a prolonged sigh. He was getting too _old _for this. However, this group were after Naruto; someone he had failed already too many times. He would not allow this new group to be a threat to him.

* * *

Naruto grinned at the Chunin standing in front of him, who was wearing a rather proud smile of his own.

"That's thirty Naruto! On the final day as well..."

"Eat that Iruka-sensei! You owe me a jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed allowing the ping-pong balls to drop to the floor all at once, allowing them to spill away in multiple different directions.

"Hehe I guess I do." The Chunin replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a way incredibly reminiscent of the blonde standing before him.

"And I think I have something in mind, watch very carefully Naruto, this is one of my favorite jutsu. It's a C-rank Raiton technique. But despite it's fairly low ranking, it is incredibly useful when used in combination with Suiton techniques."

Iruka flashed through hand-seals, as Naruto leant forward in unconcealed anticipation.

"Raiton: Kaminari Muchi!"

* * *

"Ther's no way we'll get to him now, not with Jiraiya there." A childish voice proclaimed, breaking the silence that had plagued the trio since their encounter with Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"Indeed. It's seems we will have to take up the offer that was presented to us by that masked ninja." A deep males voice replied.

"The 'Chikyū no Terāzu', shall join Akatsuki."

* * *

**Cliffhanger no Jutsu! I introduced some new villains here, who will become increasingly important as the story goes on. I understand ****I'm taking this quite slowly, but I'm still feeling out exactly where the plot wants to go.**

**Still havn't revealed anything about the taijutsu style yet, which is intentional. It's specifics will be revealed just before the team assignments. I've also introduced a concept that will hopefully define some of Naruto's abilities in the future, in chakra mastery. Hopefully I explained it in way that you can understand. As well as this, I've already started broadening Naruto's jutsu range, beyond canons Kage Bunshin + Rasengan = Success!**

**notgonnasay09: I myself am really dissapointed with that scene. I should of done so much better with it, but I had gotten quite fed up with writing (I had just written out a 2000 word history essay) and just wanted to put the chapter out. I'll definately be looking at revising that chapter. UPDATE: You will of course notice that this scene has been changed, I hope you like it better than my first go at it.**

**T00STr00nG: No wave mission I'm afraid! Naruto may encounter Haku and Zabuza later, but you'll notice my timeline (I think) has already missed the start of the wave arc. But Jiraiya and Naruto will be taking missions as a pair, and with other Konoha nin.**

**I will include a jutsu summary next chapter, as Naruto will learn a couple more ninjutsu. I'm trying to use a fair amount of original techs, as it gives me a much larger pool of jutsu to pull from when I need to.**

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**UPDATTTEEEE: This is an update as of 22/1/11. If you would care to look back over Chapters 6 and 7, you may happen to spot a few changes. This means that I have of course decided to update these chapters. The biggest changes are the names of the mysterious enemy shinobi group, and the fact that Jiraiya has not yet agreed to train Naruto. He will, it will just take some prodding; probably from Naruto himself! It also means that I am now ready to push on with the meat and potatoes of this thing. Keep an eye out on Monday and Tuesday, and I might just have something for ya.**

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**TRANSLATIONS:**

**Jutsu**

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* * *

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**Name:** Doton Ishi Yari (Earth Release: Piercing Lances)

**Rank:** A-rank

**Description:** Stone lances erupt from the ground at almost indiscernible speeds, piercing targets in non-lethal locations; thus capturing them.

* * *

**Name:** Kyouki no Me: Tamashi no Kokuhaku (Insanity's Eyes: Souls Confession)

**Rank:** ?

**Description:** There is no available information about this technique.

* * *

**Name:** Raiton: Kaminari Muchi (Lightning Release: Lightning Whip)

**Rank**: C-Rank

**Description: **Lightning extends from the users arm, forming a whip. Depending on the use of chakra, can be used to strike or restrain an opponent.

* * *

**Other**

Chikyū no Terāzu (Terrors of the Earth)


	8. Jiraiya

_Chapter 8_

_The Next Day..._

The Sannin shifted into a sitting position as he continued to watch the spectacle in the clearing below him, from his treetop vantage hadn't been able to keep himself away. Just like with his previous students, the boy had captured his attention and just wouldn't let go. Being Naruto's Godfather, the Sannin was privy to information of the blondes training; as such, he knew that Sarutobi had no concrete plan for the taijutsu style Naruto was currently coming up with. He had simply instructed Yuugao equip him with the basics, and perhaps a little inspiration, and let the creative boy run with it. And even Jiraiya had to admit, the boy had utilised his inventiveness and taken to creating a brand new style like a duck to water.

He had learnt the basics, using his Kage Bunshin to a fairly advanced level, as well as the academy style. And while most people would attempt to combine these into rigid kata and combinations, the child had taken a completely different approach. Instead, he was using what he knew to create more of a 'fighting philosophy'; a manner of combat that could be moulded and adapted, one that could evolve with the shinobi learning it. This was in fact, how all of the 'true' shinobi taijutsu styles had come into being. Styles such as the 'Goken' focus on speed, and physical superiority, mastery of ones own body in order to master your opponent. Whereas his sensei's style, the 'Saru-ken' revolved around using the terrain to your advantage, in order to strike the enemy from unexpected angles or from outside their field of vision.

This is what Naruto had done instinctively. His 'fighting philosophy' appeared to revolve around keeping the enemy off balance, and never maintaining a rigid pattern of attacks; thus preventing the enemy from predicting your next move. This approach was supplemented by his obvious talent with the Kage Bunshin technique, using the Bunshin to work in tandem with himself to constantly keep the enemy fending off attacks from multiple directions, and often at the same time. This prevented them from gaining any kind of foothold in the fight. Of course, the obvious advantages is relative to the abilities of the enemy; which is where ninjutsu and other techniques and strategies came into play. This is where approaching taijutsu as a philosophy, rather than a rigid doctrine was essential for a shinobi. It allows the shinobi to seamlessly weave other techniques into their combat.

That Naruto was approaching his training from this angle was highly impressive, and spoke a lot for natural disposition towards the shinobi arts; despite the fact that he obviously lacked the natural talent of say, an Uchiha. This is where Naruto mirrored his Father. They were both as talentless as they came, but both were so driven and determined that their work-rate made up for the slow learning curve. And that was the problem. He was far too much like the Sannin's old student. Even now, he couldn't help but be reminded of watching his own student train; doggedly practicing and improving until they had achieved what they had set out to. He was here out of some kind of perverse and masochistic curiosity, he knew the grief that he would face every time he laid eyes upon his Godson.

But he kept coming back, kept checking up on the boy every time he was in the village. And over the years, the grief had morphed into something far, far more unbearable. Guilt. Unfathomable guilt. He knew damned well he could have improved the boy's life, helped him escape his loneliness. But he hadn't, out of pure selfishness and cowardice. And now, he wasn't sure if any relationship with Naruto would be salvageable. How could the boy forgive him?

He sighed as he watch the boy switch the focus of his training, and ten identical figures worked through several hand-seals; and all at once intoned the name of a fairly basic lightning technique. The results were mixed, but the boy hadn't used enough chakra; and only managed to channel the technique through his hand instead of extending it from his hand an obvious sign of his advancement in chakra control. However, Naruto hadn't thought about it like that. Frustration evident, he and his clones had repeated the technique several times; and each time increased the amount of chakra. Finally Naruto had grown impatient, and channeled far more chakra than he should have done.

'_SHIT!'_

The Sannin was in motion before he realised it. Naruto had totally overloaded his technique completely, resulting in a rather impressive explosion; flinging Naruto backwards, towards the forest behind the clearing he had been using for training. Fortunately, Jiraiya was deceptively fast, considering his age; and managed to catch Naruto before he struck the tree, thus preventing any serious damage.

"Damn, old man. You are fast!"

Jiraiya froze in place. The kid should have been knocked out cold for that. He hadn't intended to actually still be around when he came to. His gaze fell to the boy he was still holding in his arms, and observed the obviously impressed expression on his face. He placed the kid down so he could stand and faked a smug grin.

"Yeah well, when you're the magnificent Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku; such acts of incredible heroism come as naturally as simply breathing!" Sure, he was laying it on thick, even for him; but it should annoy the kid so much he could leave without-

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud snort from the boy in front of him. "Whatever, you're still an old man!"

"Oh really? I bet I could teach a thing or two about that jutsu you were working on! After all, a shinobi of my obvious calibre must be well versed in ninjutsu."

He had spoken without thinking. A habit that had long since been beaten out of him by Sarutobi. He hadn't been able to help himself. Naruto had just coaxed him into it.

"Really? You could really help me out?" He exuded enthusiasm as he spoke, echoing memories of a certain other blonde jutsu enthusiast, many years before. Yet strangely he was not hit by the grief of losing his last student. He knew, should he actually decide to help the kid out; that once he found out how Jiraiya had left him during his childhood, he would not want to see him again. But Jiraiya still felt compelled to help the kid. He owed him that much for one, Jiraiya also held techniques that were his by birthright. But there was another reason, rather than add to the loss that had niggled away at him since his students passing as he had expected; just interacting with him had lessened it. Almost as if a weight was slowly being lifted off his shoulders, simply by being around the blonde in front of him. Lastly, he found that the boys enthusiasm as completely infectious.

He turned towards Naruto who was staring up at him eagerly awaiting a response. A grin spread across the Sannin's face.

"So... you wanna learn justu?"

* * *

Naruto panted as he raced through the seals for _Raiton: Kaminari Muchi _for what was possibly the thousandth time. He had to admit, Jiraiya knew his jutsu. The old mans demonstration of the technique had been incredible. He had flashed through the seals at almost inhuman speeds, before releasing the technique _on both hands; _launching two crackling whips of lightning chakra at a pair of trees, and using the technique to physically tear the tree down.

He bought his own hand to bear on another tree, sending it towards his target, and used it to strike his target; gauging out a rather large chunk of the tree.

"Pretty good. You've gained enough control of the chakra to effectively use it as a whip. The next step would be to learn to use it to wrap round a target. However that can wait for a while. I need to talk to you."

Naruto looked at the man before him, his face contorted into what was nearly a grimace. Of course, Naruto had figured out who the man was the moment he had laid eyes upon him. His studies to catch up had inadvertently covered the three Sannin, and how the Sage Jiraiya had tutored the Fourth. He had gone to ask the Old Man to ask what had happened to the man who might be able to tell him more about his Father. It was there that he had learnt that Jiraiya was his Godfather, and his reasons for not staying with in Konoha.

At first Naruto had been furious. But, as he calmed down, he found he could; at least a little, understand how Jiraiya felt. The Hokage had then gone on to explain how important the man was to the villages spy network and ability to stay ahead of any threats, and how such a job would have meant Naruto wouldn't have been much better off. And Naruto could definitely understand that. Jiraiya had to put the village first no matter what, and for that Naruto couldn't help respect him, if only a little. And it was because of this, Naruto decided that if he were ever to meet Jiraiya; he would give the man a chance to make up for lost time. And as far as Naruto could see, that was what the man was trying to do.

* * *

Jiraiya took a deep breath as he finished his speech to Naruto. He had started from the beginning, and told him absolutely everything; he was his father's sensei, his Godfather, absolutely everything. All the way through, Naruto had sat fairly calmly, not once showing any sign of the reaction that he was certain that he was going to receive. Instead Naruto just sat in front of him with a smile on his face. His confusion was turning into worry, he had no idea what this meant. He just couldn't read what the kid was thinking. That is, until Naruto spoke.

"You're here now though, right? You're trying to make up for it now, aren't you?"

The Sannin was floored, he couldn't quite formulate a reaction.

"Listen, I guess what I'm trying to say is I forgive you. Yeah I was lonely growing up, and you probably could have changed that. But I have people I consider precious now, and my life has changed because of it. I guess I could try and stay angry with you, but what would be the point? that would just mean throwing away the possibility of gaining another friend, and probably the last living link to my Father."

Naruto took a breath, before breaking out into his trademark grin.

"But that doesn't mean your not gonna have to do at least a little bit of work. I mean, I bet an awesome ninja like you would have at least a little bit to show someone like me."

That was when it clicked in the Sannins mind. _'He already knew! Sensei set me up!' _He glanced over at Naruto who had gotten back up, and had resumed practicing his taijutsu with a group of shadow clones. He had been given a second chance. Jiraiya couldn't help but smile to match his Godson. _'That doesn't mean the old goat won't pay for setting me up like this.'_

He couldn't help but think about the kids ambition to be Hokage. _'Jiraiya: 'The man who trained two Hokage's.' Now I bet that would impress the ladies...'_

**Yet more build-up in this chapter, but I hope this way of introducing Jiraiya as Naruto's Sensei is far more realistic. I think following this chapter there will be a short time-skip to the team assignment day. It feels good to write again after such a long time out, and hopefully I can get a roll going now that I'm back. I'd also like to point out that I updated Chapters 6 & 7, so anyone confused as to why the story doesn't quite make sense, just have a re-read of those.**


	9. Abduction

_Chapter 9_

_Genin Team Assignment Day_

Naruto fidgeted listlessly in his seat, as Iruka-sensei continued to read out the team assignments. He didn't even know why he had to be here; he already knew that he wouldn't be assigned a proper team, as he was going to be apprenticed to Jiraiya. But the old pervert had insisted that he show up at the academy. Naruto suppressed a scowl as he thought about his new sensei's 'eccentricities'. All things considered, Jiraiya had managed to keep his habits fairly low-key; but apparently even a Sannin can't maintain self control for more than a few days. He had been practising one of the jutsu his clones had uncovered in the library, Fuuton: Goukuuhou; and had just about figured out the amount of chakra he should be using to avoid the jutsu blowing up in his own face (this had actually happened, more than once, much to Jiraiya's amusement), when the Sannin declared that he needed to go some research, and that he wouldn't be too far away if Naruto needed him. He had just assumed the pervert was working on a new jutsu or technique that he needed to keep secret, and so continued to train. Several hours passed, and Naruto decided that he should go find the Sannin, to show his progress. Fortunately, he wasn't particularly difficult to find, as he seemed to be giggling at something fairly loudly, from behind a bush.

He was spying. On women, who were swimming in the river that the hill that they had been training on overlooked.

Needless to say, the man got a full strength Oiroke no Jutsu; which subsequently sent the man over the edge of the cliff, into the midst of the very women he had been spying on. They had heard Naruto scream pervert, and once they laid eyes on Jiraiya, they connected the dots. The sound of the resultant beating was thoroughly satisfying. Simultaneously, Jiraiya gained a new name. Ero-sennin.

Naruto perked up slightly when he heard Iruka call Sakura's name.

"Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Shimura Sai, you are Team 7." Just as Iruka finished speaking, the classroom door opened revealing a boy no older than Naruto.

"I am Shimura Sai, I apologise for being late."

The boy immediately put Naruto on guard. Something wasn't right with him. He wore a short, black jacket that exposed his stomach, and the tanto strapped to his back immediately set him apart from the rest of his class as someone who had more than basic shinobi training. But it wasn't that, that bothered Naruto. It was the boy's smile. It was painfully forced, and hadn't left his face since he had entered the room. He filled Naruto with unease as he took the seat next Sakura, the seat that he had forgone in order to avoid a beating that said girl would have given out all too easily if he hadn't budged. He himself had taken a seat at the back row, next to Hinata. A girl whom Naruto, had never actually spoken to himself, mainly because she had always kept herself to herself and never really drawn his attention, or anyone else's for that matter. He quickly decided that he should change that, and now was as good a time as any. And besides that, he wanted a second opinion on that Sai kid.

"Hey Hinata, do you notice anything weird about Sai?" He whispered, as the hubbub following the announcement continued. Naruto couldn't help be curious as Hinata stiffened as he spoke, and barely met his eyes as she stuttered out a response.

"H-his smile it doesn't seem natural, l-like -" She was cut off by Iruka announcing the next team, over the noise of the class.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, you are in Team 8."

"Unlucky Hinata, you have dog-breath on your team." He murmured, trying to ensure Kiba didn't over hear his joke; but then had to repress his own laugh when Hinata's hand shot to her mouth, in order to stifle a giggle at the expense of her new team-mate.

The Academy curriculum actually contained an extensive section on the reading of body language, and using that information to your advantage. Naruto had long since covered the entire Academy curriculum using his shadow clones, and as such, could tell Hinata was horrifically nervous. She was pushing her fingers together, and refusing to lift her gaze from the desk in front of her. Unfortunately, even with his new found skill knowledge about body language, he still couldn't figure out exactly why she was so nervous. She could just be shy, Naruto supposed. But no one is _that_ shy, are they?

Eventually, Iruka reached Naruto's name last, just in time to stop the whispers of how he didn't get a team. Because after all, who would want the 'dead-last'?

"And Uzumaki Naruto has been personally chosen as an apprentice to Jiraiya of the Sannin."

It was hard to miss the pride in Iruka's voice, despite the fact he wasn't supposed to show any favoritism. And whilst that made Naruto happy; it wasn't nearly as happy as the shocked silence that had graced the room at Iruka's announcement made him. Actually it was lees the shocked silence, and more the fact that the shocked silence made the sound of Sasuke-teme grinding his teeth out of what Naruto perceived as jealousy, carry around the room. Priceless.

"He says you are to meet him at your usual training area, at 10:30am sharp."

Naruto checked the clock in the corner of the room. 10:25.

'_So not only was the pervert too lazy to actually come and meet me, he's going to make me run. Someone is just begging to be pranked.'_

_

* * *

_

Naruto exited the Academy at a run, determined to get to Jiraiya before his tome ran out. If he was late, Jiraiya would probably spend at least an hour refusing to train him, whilst he did his 'research', 'as punishment'. However, before he could increase his pace; a piercing scream broke the placid silence outside of the academy building. Naruto stopped in his tracks. He knew there would be other ninja that would have heard it, most of them Chunin or Jonin. But what if they didn't make it in time? It didn't take Naruto any more than a second to make the decision, before he set off towards the scream.

It didn't take long for Naruto to discover the reason for the scream. He spotted the shinobi first, darting from rooftop to rooftop, at an impressive speed; heading towards Konoha's South Gate. It took a little longer, to figure out the reason for the scream. A small girl, no older than five, was slung over the shinobi's shoulder, her blonde hair billowing out behind them as they moved. Naruto immediately set after them, making his way to the rooftops of the village. Unfortunately, this alerted the mysterious shinobi to his presence; and he turned his head to meet Naruto's eyes, and the blonde couldn't help but notice his Hitai-ate. He was an Iwa shinobi. An Iwa shinobi was kidnapping a child in Konoha. However, this revalation brought Naruto more questions than answers; such as, where the hell were the ANBU?

This momentary distraction was all it took. The blonde almost didn't see it. An explosive note, placed just where Naruto was about to land. The newly instated Genin was working on instinct at this point, and the two tell-tale 'pops' that signaled the arrival of a pair of Kage Bunshin told Naruto that his training of the technique with Yuugao had paid off. And as Naruto felt the Bunshin's hands grasp his jacket, he could only pray that he had made it time.

* * *

The mysterious, black-clad ninja glanced back, to see if his trap had ensnared his pursuer, and couldn't help but be impressed with what he saw. The kid had summoned two Kage Bunshin, _without seals_ and _mid-jump. _The first was used to give the second leverage, and the second pulled the brat out of the way of the explosion; and the boy had instantly moved to go after him again. _'Looks as if I'm going to have to teach a lesson.' _ The ninja's eyes were drawn to a park-area; that was, like much of Konoha, forested, a few houses past his current location. _'That's as good a place as any.' _

The Iwa ninja descended to ground level amongst the trees, and awaited his prey.

* * *

**Ugggh mild cliffhanger alert. A very short chapter, I know; but it is in two parts, the second being released tomorrow with any luck. Hopefully, I've managed to get across his improved co-ordination with the Kage Bunshin. Also, I'm trying to make Naruto a little less do first, think later. Imo, he has a great ability to plan and strategise in split second moments in the manga, he just can't quite bring himself to do it in the Manga (rare flashes of brilliance aside). Sai is replacing naruto on T7. I know that a few people want to see Naruto still work with T7, but I think I've already said that he will be working in tandem on missions with the entire set of rookies. So don't worry about that.**

**Also, don't take one conversation with Hinata to mean that I'm gunning for a Naru/Hina pairing. No pairings have been decided yet, and naruto will have plenty of interaction with the majority of the female characters. (Yes - even Tenten.) I just wanted to show how Naruto is a little more 'switched on', yet can still be thoroughly oblivious. Anyway, Next chapter we shall see the much discussed Taijutsu style, and a few of the jutsu naruto has been practicing. I'd also like to add that I'm in no hurry to 'super power' Naruto. He will progress in a different way than Canon, but not all that much faster. **


	10. The Result of Training

_Chapter 10_

Naruto looked down to the wooded area in which the Iwa ninja had retreated into. '_Why would he try to hide in there, rather than move straight to the gates? Unless, he's trying to shake me. But... something still doesn't add up. Where the hell are the ANBU for a start? And why didn't anybody else hear that explosion?' _Naruto ground his teeth together. None of this made any sense, but any answers he could figure out here were meaningless unless he saved that girl. _'So, he's using the tree's for cover, and going on what I saw earlier, he's pretty awesome at setting traps as he runs. Fine, I guess I'll have to play this one safe.' _As he spoke two Kage Bunshin burst into existence alongside him, and set off into the forest, directly following the trail left by the shinobi; one leading the way and another hanging back slightly. The real Naruto followed the pair at a distance, staying just out the pair's eyeshot, meaning he would be out of sight should they come across the shinobi.

It wasn't long before the merit of taking the few seconds to think and strategise before acting became all too apparent, and all of a sudden he was incredibly grateful for all the extra reading he had done once he had finished with academy. And especially grateful towards that weird Jonin that had advised him to do it.

_[Flashback]_

_"Raiton: Kaminari Muchi!" The lightning crackled off of his hand in way that was almost natural to him after two weeks of trying to master the technique. And despite the sweat exuding from just about every pore on his body, the heavy panting and the slightly lopsided way he was carrying himself, signalling the onset of exhaustion; he couldn't help feeling slightly smug, as the tree he had targeting let loose an almighty groan before toppling to the ground, causing a large tremor to reverberate around the clearing that he and Jiraiya had been using for a training ground. And for once, he found himself missing the presence of the self-proclaimed 'super-pervert', so that he could admire his handywork._

_"That's not bad you know, you still haven't quite nailed the control, but that will come with time I suppose."_

_Naruto stiffened and began to frantically search for the source of the unfamiliar voice, and his eyes very quickly settled on a man, leaning against a tree nonchalantly reading an orange book that was suspiciously familiar. And whilst his face was masked, the Konoha Hitai-ate that was tied around his face, covering his left eye marked him out as an ally._

_"Who are you? And how come you're here?" Naruto questioned, his exhaustion temporarily overshadowed by his curiosity. The man in question straightened, and placed his book into the kunai holster at his waste._

_"My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I am the Jonin Sensei who was due to take you onto my team, before Jiraiya-sama agreed to make you his apprentice."_

_"Oh right! But that still doesn't explain why you're here though. I mean, I don't wanna be rude or anything; but this is a little bit far to come, just to say that." The blonde stated, throwing the Jonin a confused look. Kakashi's eye curved, creating what Naruto surmised was a smile._

_"Ah, not as slow as you look than, eh?" Kakashi asked, causing anger to flare up in the Genin in front of him, much to his own amusement. However, he continued, as though oblivious to the rage he had generated in Naruto. "Well you're right. I came out here to have a quick talk with you, before I begin preparations for my own Genin team." Kakahi sighed through his mask, his eye losing the smile it had before. "I was the student of the Yondaime, your Father. And, as a result of the council's mistrust-" The masked shinobi's voice had begun to fill with venom as he spoke, forcing him to strain to regain his composure. "-due to the Kyuubi, I was forbidden to make contact with you, outside of my shinobi duties."_

_Naruto didn't quite know how to react. He was both angry and sad, that another person that could have made his early childhood just a little bit less lonely, hadn't been there. But he also understood what it was to be a shinobi, and that Kakashi hadn't been given a choice. Instead, he felt anger towards the council; a group of people who according to the Sandaime, and more recently Jiraiya, had done everything possible to make his life a misery. _

_"So Sandaime-sama decided that he would appoint you to my Genin team once you graduated." Naruto finally understood now. The man had wanted to make amends by teaching him, and now it must be like the chance was being taken away from him. "But now Jiraiya-sama is your Sensei, I can't help you dorectly, without being accused of trying to poach a student." Suddenly, the man's weird eye-smile returned. "However, if I were to stumble upon a rookie Genin, such as yourself; and offer him or her advice, than that would be part of my duty as an elite Jonin and superior, no? And if I were to say, drop a scroll; completely by accident as I leave, then that surely couldn't be breaking any rules, right?" Kakashi allowed a scroll to drop behind him, hitting the ground with a soft thud as he spoke. "Anyway, I'm a little late for a meeting, so I should probably go. But before I do, perhaps I should suggest you carry on with all that reading you have been doing. In fact, I would probably go so far as to suggest that you pay particular attention to battlefield tactics and strategies. As you are in an apprenticeship, the tactical theory is entirely different from that of a four-man cell; and it would be more than likely that you will have to do a few missions solo, too. But as I said, it's just a suggestion." _

_And with that, the man disappeared in a puff of smoke, signifying a shunshin technique, leaving behind a scroll with a note attatched._

_'This is one of my personal favorites, and I'm sure you'll figure out a use for it. Enjoy.' Naruto eagerly opened the scroll, and let out a cry of joy with what he found. _

_[Flashback End]_

Naruto grimaced as he received a first person view of his first Kage Bunshin's fate. It had got it's foot caught in a concealed rope that had tightened around it's leg, and as it was yanked into the air upside down; it managed to catch sight of the handful of kunai that had been let loose in it's direction as the trap activated, before they plunged into it's flesh, dispelling it.

Meanwhile the second Bunshin involuntarily gulped, as it fulfilled it's duty of summoning the replacement.

"Glad that's not my job."

* * *

Naruto and his Bunshin pushed on in a similar fashion; until eventually, the leading Bunshin signaled to the one behind him to stop, before dispelling itself. The original Naruto grinned slightly as the memory of spotting the Iwa shinobi setting up the next trap a few metres ahead of his first clones position. he circled around the area, giving the enemy a fairly wide birth, to try and get behind the ninja. As he was doing this, his remaining clone played it's part.

* * *

"Hey asshole!" The Bunshin screeched at the Iwa nin, as it leapt down from the tree's into the area where the shinobi was setting up his latest trap. "Hand over that girl, before I kick your ass!" The foreign ninja let out a short, bark of a laugh.

"Why don't you come over here and make me, you little shit." He had barely finished speaking before the Bunshin charged at him, his fist cocked back for a punch. "A head on charge? What the fuck do they teach in this village?" Upon hearing this the charging Naruto grinned, and the Iwa shinobi widened his eyes as he heard two Bunshin appear, and turned his head just in time to see them running at him from behind; taking advantage of the distraction caused by the first. Working purely on instinct, he spun and ducked the blow of the first, and extended his right left leg as he spun, catching the second clone in an improvised sweep. Before, the first clone could regain his balance, he straightened and chambered a kick to destroy the second.

"Raiton: Kaminari Muchi!"

He felt the Raiton chakra whip tighten around the leg he was just about to use, numbing his leg slightly and pulling him off balance; only for the Bunshin he was about to destroy land it's own kick to his stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. However, this also disconnected the raiton technique that had connected to his leg. He threw a glance to the his captive, who was still unconscious, leant up against a tree just outside of the current area of the battle, before returning his eyes to the opponents before him. The one who had landed the kick on him, was watching him warily, ready to react to his next move. However, the one who had used the ninjutsu was breathing heavily, and just as he was trying to figure out why he was so tired, he exploded in a puff of smoke. '_That one was a Kage Bunshin too? And I watched the other one be created, so that means the real one isn't here!'_

_"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!"_

The Iwa shinobi cursed as he felt Naruto's hands grasp his ankles, and once again only instinct and experience saved him from the jutsu. He performed a Kawarimi no Jutsu just as the blonde began to pull him underground, replacing himself with a section of a branch from one of the tree's above. He raced through hand seals, whilst below the real Naruto leapt out from the hole created by his jutsu.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Naruto eyes were drawn up, and they widened as he caught sight of the size of the fireball that was coming his way. _'Shit! That thing is way bigger than the one I saw Sasuke-teme practicing during the Academy! I have to move, but I don't have the time!'_

"Raiton: Kaminari Muchi!" Naruto felt the feeling of his own lightning chakra wrap around his leg, as his remaining clone used the jutsu to yank him out of the path of the fireball; which in turn expended the last of it's own chakra, thereby dispelling it. He had barely landed when his gut told him to move once more. He rolled sideways, dodging the incoming knee of the Iwa shinobi. The enemy ninja launched himself at Naruto once again, raining down attacks at the fresh Genin; only to be forced to leap over a leg sweep from a fresh Bunshin, that had seemingly materialised from nowhere. Suddenly, the enemy ninja was on the back foot, being forced to defend against relentless attacks from all directions. No sooner had he blocked a punch from the original, the Bunshin was attacking from behind; forcing him to angle his body sideways to deal with both threats at once. He stepped over a leg sweep aimed at his left leg from the Bunshin, and used the motion to flow into a kick at the Bunshin. The original hadn't reacted fast enough to the clones initial strike, leaving the Iwa nin with an opportunity to counter. He lashed out at the Bunshin, destroying it with a well placed kick to the side of the Bunshin's head. Unfortunately, the sound of the Bunshin being destroyed masked the sound of the creation of two more.

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!"

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!"

The two clones announced their jutsu in perfect unison, each launching a barrage of tight spheres of deadly wind towards the enemy ninja, each impacting his torso and tearing into his uniform and skin underneath. The ninja was sent barreling backwards, skidding across the mud, before impacting the base of a tree. The original Naruto looked on as the ninja shakily stood up, and made for the unconscious girl; attempting to escape the scene of the battle. He signaled to his clones, who both used their Raiton jutsu to pull the Iwa nin to the ground, preventing him from reaching the girl. The Iwa nin began racing through hand seals on the ground, too quickly for Naruto to stop him.

"Time for the back-up plan! If I cannot capture the target, destroy it, so it can never be used against us! Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Naruto watched in horror as the ball of flame erupted from the shinobi's mouth, ready to incinerate the child he had been fighting to protect. There was no way he could stop it. Was there? Naruto took a deep breath. He had promised he would make his Father proud, and even if this was to be his last and only chance. Uzumaki Naruto, _never_ goes back on a promise. And there was no way he would let this girl die. Regardless of the cost.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu." Naruto intoned the words for the jutsu not in the adrenaline charged shout that many ninja use during a life and death battle, but in a calm voice, that seemed to settle his own mind. And as he felt the pull of the technique end, indicating he had successfully swapped with the girl, he opened his eyes to face his fate head on.

"Doton: Doruku Gaeshi!"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as a large stone wall erupted in front of him, stopping the fireball in it's tracks.

"As usual, the Gallant Jiraiya comes to the rescue in the nick of time, and saves his new student from the clutches of death."

The blonde turned his head to where the small girl had been moments before, and turned his head back to see the stone wall crumbling to reveal a very different man to the one had been fighting earlier. This one was taller for a start, and wore a Jonin flak jacket, as well as a Konoha Hitai-ate. Immediately, something clicked in Naruto's brain.

"What he hell is going on here!" He shouted, as he watched both men grin at him; even as the tall Jonin began to light a cigarette.

"What is going on, is that you just passed the Genin test, gaki." Jiraiya stated, his face not losing the smug grin it was wearing.

"...Test?" At this Jiraiya sighed impatiently, and rolled his eyes.

"Well didn't you wonder where all the ANBU were? Or that if the kidnapped girl was so important, why no-one was looking for her? This was a test designed by myself and Sarutobi Asuma over here, in order to see if you were ready to become a Genin, or more specifically a Konoha Genin." This appeared to confuse the blonde even more.

"But I thought i had already graduated after the Mizuki incident? And what about the girl and the Iwa ninja? I still don't get what's going on!" Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose. Sure, he knew that the kid was still trying to the shake off the adrenaline of a battle and all that, but it was really frustrating to have to explain it all.

"Yes you graduated, but before you officially become a Genin, each individual Sensei puts there squad under a test of their own design in order to judge whether the potential Genin have the qualities that they want from shinobi under command. Hatake Kakashi, one of Konoha's more proficient Jonin, puts his students through a test designed to test their teamwork. As I am taking you as an apprentice; teamwork, whilst still important, is not a priority, so I tested you for different qualities." Seeing that the blonde was still giving him his full attention, Jiraiya continued. "First of all, I tested you to make sure everything that you've learnt in these past weeks has actually stuck around in that thick skull of yours. We intentionally forced you into situations where you would have to use the skills you have learnt, such as the tree's laced with traps. But more importantly, I tested you to make sure that you had the thing that gives all of Konoha's greatest ninja their strength. The 'Will of Fire'." Naruto once again looked confused.

"What's 'The Will of Fire'? I haven't heard of it before? What do you mean it gives Konoha ninja their strength?" This time it was Asuma who stepped forward to speak.

"'The Will of Fire' is the phrase we use to describe the spirit that drives Konoha ninja to fight. It's the desire to protect what is precious to you, and the extra strength that desire grants you when that precious something is put at risk. For us Konoha shinobi, it is the village and it's people that we strive to protect above all else. For some, like me in fact, it takes a while to realise and understand what it is that you as a ninja fight for. And for others, it is instinctual. People like your Father and the rest of the previous Hokage's, are those kind of people. They understand on a base level that they would put their life on the line for what they consider precious. Whether that means loved ones, friends, the village, or the people that live within it's walls." Asuma paused as he stepped on the finished cigarette, that he had let fall onto the ground.

"And I have to say that today, you proved that you understand 'The Will of Fire' perfectly, even if you didn't realise it at first. When you performed the Kawarimi with the child, you did not hesitate. You simply knew that you had to save her no matter the cost. that is 'The Will of Fire.'" Jiraiya grinned as the understanding dawned on Naruto's face.

"Anyway, gaki; if you still haven't figured it out yet, the little girl was me henged. And Asuma was the Iwa nin you fought, also in a henge."

"But how did you maintain the jutsu as we fought? Surely the hits you took should have dispelled it?" He had aimed the question at Asuma, but it was Jiraiya who answered.

"That would be because of these." The Sannin stated, pulling on a slip of paper from his jacket. "They are seals of that I that store chakra, and pump it into an already active henge technique to 'smooth over' and disruptions in the Henge." Naruto still looked lost, despite the fact he was nodding his head, causing Jiraiya to have to fight back another sigh. "Listen, you understand that a Henge is a basic genjutsu right? And that when a land a hit on someone, it disrupts the chakra being pushed into the Henge to keep it active, cutting it off from power and as a result, dispelling it?" This time Naruto nodded far more surely, showing his understanding. "Well these seals essentially act as a back-up generator for the jutsu, giving it chakra to replace the user as the source, meaning it cannot be dispelled by taking a few hits."

"Could they be used for other jutsu, like a Bunshin?" The question had caught Jiraiya unawares. he had _genuinely _never thought of that.

"Possibly, but I'd have to revamp the seal. Why?"

"Just curious, it sounds like it could be really useful when used in combination with the Kage Bunshin, is all. Will you teach me how to use seals?" Jiraiya's grin grew at this.

"Of course, gaki. But only when you're ready. But first, we need to get some food down you. We have a busy day ahead of you still, so you'll need the strength." Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Busy day?"

"Of course! We still have to train a little bit, and we will start taking missions today as well. But first, we are going shopping. I will _not_ have an apprentice of mine running around in bright orange."

Naruto just looked oblivious.

"But... what's wrong with orange?"

* * *

**And there we have the Genin test. I tried to come up with something no-one has done before, which I'm pretty sure I did. I just hope people aren't too disappointed with how it finished or that there was no actual plot bad guy as such. Anyway, I'll try to write some more during the week at college, as my timetable is finally back to normal, giving me far more time to write. Just a quick reply to some of the reviews, as well as a translation for the Jutsu's:**

**Lord Purity and Whitewolf0606: ** I totally understand your issues with the chapter length. It's purely down to the amount of time I have to write in, between college and work and volunteering; I only really get a few hours at a time every now and again that I really feel up to writing. So I use it to get out at least a whole chapter if I can. Otherwise it would be weeks before I get a chapter out. But they will get longer as I get more time to write, e.e over holidays and such. Or at weekends.

**T00STr00ng: **As I will be teaming Naruto up with other genin intermittently, there is every chance that the Wave arc will happen. There will also be plenty of original arcs thrown in too, so as to involve as many of the characters that tend to get sidelined until filler arcs. As for pairings... they are still totally undecided. And I'm not even sure if there will be any, unless something really calls to me as I'm writing.

**Jutsu**

Raiton: Kaminari Muchi (Lightning Release: Lightning Whip)

Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)

Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique)

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Doton: Doruku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)

Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu (Wind Style: Great Air Cannon)


	11. The Failed D Rank

_Chapter 11_

Naruto looked himself over in the mirror for nearly the third time. Even _he_ had to admit, he looked pretty bad-ass. He wore the standard black Konoha combats, tied off at the ankles to prevent loose fabric becoming a hinderance. Upon each thigh he wore a kunai pouch, in order to exploit the fact that he was ambidextrous (A trait even he hadn't realised, until Jiraiya had spotted that he didn't seem to favour any particular side when fighting). Upon the insistence of his sensei, he also wore a third; this one larger than the others, and with more compartments within, strapped to his belt slightly behind him. Jiraiya still hadn't explained to him what it was for, merely that he was confident that Naruto would enjoy using what it was designed to contain.

Replacing his old jacket, he instead had a plain black shirt with full length sleeves, over a mesh shirt for added protection. The shirt, whilst being full length, had been tied up from his wrists, all the way up to his elbow with bandages. Even with the function of preventing loose fabric, this was still incredibly unusual, and once again Naruto couldn't figure out for the life of him why he required it. Only that Ero-sennin had insisted upon it.

Finally, was the '_Pièce de résistance' _of his new uniform, or at least in his opinion. Jiraiya had asked him if he wanted any additional body armour, and initially he had said no and they were all set to purchase a plain jacket instead; when something caught his eye. In the far corner of the shop, almost comletely hidden by racks of generic shiobi attire, was a mannequine. Naruto couldn't help but wander over to it, to get a closer look. It wasn't particularly flashy, or eye-catching. But to Naruto, it just screamed 'awesome'.

Upon the mannequin was a set of shinobi body armour, made to be light-weight and maneuverable; whilst still providing protection from all but the heaviest of blows, and the deadliest of ninjutsu. It provided a more complete form of protection from the basic ANBU garb, although looking fairly similar. Unlike the ANBU uniform, it provided full protection of the shoulders and the sides of the torso. Where it seriously differed however was the mechanism. The ANBU uniform, was two pieces of material strapped over the shoulders and at the hips, sacrificing protection for speed and maneuverability. However, the armour in front of him was constructed from multiple interlocking 'plates' of material, allowing maximum movement, with no gaps in the armour as the cost.

These 'plates' were concealed underneath a top layer of deep mauve material, in order to disguise the mechanism. Meaning that, at first glance, the armour was restrictive; ideally meaning that any potential enemy would under-estimate thw wearers speed and agility, giving him the edge. The armour also had several attatchments woven into the top layer of fabric, including straps where a scabbard could be attatched both across the back and at hip-level, and places where scrolls could be attatched.

"Now, that is interesting." Naruto turned to find his sensei, looking curiously at the armour. "These front panels of armour, have specially designed sections in which seals can be woven into."

"But at the academy teaches that seals can be placed on most kinds of material?" Jiraiya nodded in the affirmative, before replying.

"True enough. However, shinobi armour is woven together using material infused with chakra by the person who created it. This means that seals cannot be placed on some-one wearing the armour, without having to make changes to the seal array to make it compatible with the individual chakra of the person who made the armour. As you can tell, this would be almost impossible in a practical combat situation." The Sannin reached out a hand, and began examining the armour closely.

"However, _this _armour, is designed to fuse with the users chakra once a seal on the inside is activated. This enables the owner to place seals on his own armour in order to aid him in battle; whilst bypassing the seal defence put in place by the person who made it, leaving the defence active, in order to protect him from the use of seals by the enemy. A little known fact is that my old armour, and the Yondaime's Jonin flak jacket are made in the same way, as we both used seals extensively."

That had settled it for Naruto. For him, it was another link to his Father. Another link to his family.

That, and it looked completely awesome.

* * *

Sarutobi found, that despite the presence of several of his subordinates, many of them in really quite senior in postion; that he couldn't keep the proud smile that he currently wore, buried under his need to be professional and impartial towards all of his shinobi. He also found that neither Iruka, nor Jiraiya could either. Naruto stood before him, sporting a slightly sheepish grin, in completely new shinobi attire, looking every bit the proffesional shinobi.

"I take that you are here for your first mission, Naruto?" The Hokage enquired, garnering an excited nod from the blonde in front of him.

"Excellent news! Iruka over here has your assignment ready for you." The Hokage gestured to Iruka, who was unable to hold back a grimace as he extended the mission scroll towards the fresh Genin. Sarutobi sat back in his chair, and awaited the fireworks.

"I have to deliver...groceries? What the he-!" Naruto's tirade was cut short as his sensei grabbed him by the mouth with one arm, gesturing to the elderly Kage with the other.

"I think I'll explain the 'merit's' of D-ranks to him, Sarutobi-sensei. Save your ears the trouble." Jiraiya stated, before hastily exiting the mission room with a still struggling, and evidently outraged Naruto under his arm.

As they left, the room's occupants burst into laughter. In truth, they had been waiting for the blonde to turn up all day. To most in the room, although they had no animosity towards Naruto (in fact some were rather fond of the Genin), the mission assignments was but a small vindication for the many pranks the blonde had pulled over the years.

* * *

_"_What the hell hind of mission is this Ero-sennin! Deliver groceries? This isn't a mission it's a chore!"

Jiraiya sighed heavily, already having anticipated his apprentices reaction to. For a start, the reaction of his first apprentice had been exactly the same.

"D-rank missions are an exercise used in order to promote the growth of teamwork, before you actually set out into the field. They give Genin an insight into how they're team mates think, and what kind of people they are. Without this prior bonding, sending Genin into a combat situation would be utter suicide." Jiraiya paused to check his student's understanding before continuing. "However, as I'm sure you're aware, you are not part of any team; and whilst you will be participating in joint missions with other teams, you will be doing a great many of these D-ranks yourself, as well as while working with one of the other Genin teams."

"But why do I have to do them by myself as well?"

Jiraiya grinned at his students question.

"We will be using them as a training exercise. One of the clever things about how the D-rank missions are set up, is that they all simulate a higher-ranked mission. For example, you are being asked to deliver groceries, correct? Well when we do this, you will take this to mean that you will be leading a mission, in which you and your team are to deliver valuable intel or cargo to a location, whilst protecting the cargo from external threats. Understand?" Naruto thought for a few seconds before answering.

"You said that I would be leading a 'team'. If I'm doing these missions independantly, who will be my team? And how can there be any 'external threats' for me to preotect the cargo from?" Naruto asked, his curiosity genuinely growing.

"You'll be using Kage Bunshin to simulate ninja under your command, and yours truly will act as the external threats. It's your job to command your ninja effectively, in order to complete the mission without sustaining any casualties amongst your subordinates. I want you to understand, that I'm not training you to be 'just another powerful shinobi'. I training you to be a leader. Someone who can lead a unit deep into enemy territory, on what most would consider a suicide mission, and return with everyone alive. You have to understand how to command shinobi effectively, and whilst minimising harm to your ninja. As Hokage, you will have to do this constantly. And often you can't be there to protect the ninja you have sent. As a result, your orders have to be spot on, or you will have an ally's blood on your hands. A friends blood on your hands. "

* * *

Naruto scanned the tree's around him intently for signs of his 'enemy'. Once they had collected the groceries he was supposed to deliver, Jiraiya had given him a map, planning his route for him. It had been explained that he would be allowed to plan his route for some missions, Jiraiya would do it for others in order to simulate occasions where only one route is available to him, and him and his team would have to take it, regardless of the danger. Typically, his sensei had given him the longest route through the village to his destination, cutting through many rarely used alleys and area's of park; each and every one a perfect location for an ambush

He returned his eyes to the Kage Bunshin convey he had ordered ahead of him. He was at placed the back, to enable him, in theory; to observe and react to the events that unfolded around him, hopefully giving the orders in time to save the lives of his 'comrades' as well as ensure the success of the mission. That was another condition that Jiraiya had laid out prior to beginning. His clones were only aloud to take action based on his orders, and were not allowed to act independently in any other capacity than self-defence. He had set his first clone at the front of the convoy, in order to act both as a scout and in order to initially engage with any threats. Two more were at the rear, enabling them to support and defend any threats to either the convey, or the first Kage Bunshin. The 'cargo' itself was being carried by a separate Bunshin, henged in order to appear as a traveling merchant. A further Bunshin, in order to maintain an element of unpredictability, even when being ambushed; was traveling underground using the Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu that he had learnt from Kakashi. He had provided this Bunshin with extra chakra, in order for him to maintain the jutsu; under the premise that for a similar mission, a ninjutsu specialist would be assigned to the squad.

Naruto was made to wait for almost the entire route around the village before Jiraiya struck. It was part of the way through a particularly tight alley, just a few minutes away from the delivery location; when the leading Bunshin raised a hand, simultaneously signaling to the rest to stop and that he had heard something. The original strained his ears, trying to hone in on the low rumbling sound that seemed to be growing in volume. '_...Shit! Behind us!' _ The original span round, and was greeted with the sight of a powerful Fuuton technique; spanning the breadth of the alley, tearing up the ground as it sped towards the group.

"Bunshin-1, get the cargo to the rooftops! Bunshins 2 and 3, cover them!" Naruto barked out his orders as he himself took to the roofs, using the walls of the adjoining buildings to ascend. A glance towards the lead Bunshin told him that he had been successful in avoiding the initial attack. He then checked, below. Fortunately, the Fuuton technique hadn't torn into the ground enough to unearth the final Bunshin; leaving Naruto with an important tactical advantage, should it be needed.

"Boss, straight ahead!" The cry from his clones stirred Naruto from is slight lapse in focus, and he set his sights on Jiraiya; whom to his astonishment, was running up the wall vertically to get to their position, whilst being henged in order to look like a Kumo-nin.

"Clones 2 and 3, use Raiton: Kaminari Muchi, try and catch his legs!" The two clones acted almost immediately, firing off twisting bolts of electricity towards the enemy. Jiraiya reacted almost immediately, launching himself from the wall he had been climbing to the opposite one; but the chakra whip persisted forcing him to take to the air in between the two buildings again to avoid the tendrils of lightning.

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya looked up to see the original Naruto in the air inhaling deeply, and sending several spheres of vicious wind chakra down at him. Reacting at incredible speeds again, he raced through his own hand-seals, and used 'Doton: Doruku Gaeshi' without even needing to speak the name of the technique. A stone slab emerged from the building, seemingly using the mortar holding the brickwork of the adjacent building together as it's source material, defending Jiraiya from the attack. However, the henged Sannin was now in free-fall; having had to defend himself mid-leap meant that he was prevented from gaining a foothold on one of the buildings.

"Raiton: Kaminari Muchi."

The Sannin calmly intoned the name of the jutsu that Naruto himself had used but a few minutes ago; using the lightning whip to grasp the stone slab he had just created, and swinging to the wall of the building Naruto was on, and instantly began moving towards the blonde again.

"Bunshin 4, now!"

Jiraiya looked towards the ground, far too late to be able to do anything about barrage of wind chakra that was just about to impact his chest. Just as the spirals a slicing chakra began to impact Jiraiya, he exploded in a puff of smoke.

_'A Kage Bunshin? But that would mean- Oh, no...'_

The blonde broke out into a desperate run, towards the final destination of his cargo, whilst signaling the fourth Bunshin to follow. Because, during the fighting he had used the opportunity to order the other Bunshins to press ahead,using the combat as cover to slip away. But they had been kept busy by a Kage Bunshin, leaving the convoy under-protected, with no knowledge of a second enemy.

He soon caught sight of both his Bunshin, and the henged Jiraiya; with the Bunshin running along the top of the rooftops carrying the 'merchant', and the Sannin running alongside of them on the wall beneath. The blonde watched as the Sannin ran through some hand-seals, too fast to do anything about it. Suddenly, the ground beneath his Bunshin transformed into some kind of swamp, dragging them waist deep through the roof of the building supporting them. Then, the jutsu stopped, leaving them trapped at the waist in the concrete of the building. Naruto made to move towards the Bunshin, but was nowhere near fast enough as Jiraiya walked up behind the entrapped Bunshin; and casually threw a trio of kunai, implanting then in the ground around his Bunshin. It took Naruto longer than it should have to figure out why Jiraiya had jumped from the roof with the Bunshins on.

The kunai had explosive notes on them. Naruto skidded to a halt as they detonated, and his minds flooded with the memories of his Bunshin. The blonde made to move to where his clones had been, only to be stopped by a voice from behind.

"I waited until you had made it into an area of the village that is waiting to be developed, so the explosive notes couldn't have harmed anyone."

"But I-, I-" Naruto began, shaken by the fact that he had failed to protect what could have been Konoha ninja, if this was a real life situation.

"Don't worry about it for now. We are gonna go to our training area and debrief, figure out what went wrong for you, and how you could have done things differently. You are only a fresh Genin, Naruto. I'm not expecting you to pull every thing off perfectly at the moment. This is a learning exercise, so we can make sure that this doesn't happen in the field." Naruto felt his Sensei's s hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"But first, we're gonna have to go back to the shops. I blew up that man's groceries..."

* * *

**So there we have it. My revamped D-ranks. I hope you enjoyed what I've done with them. I wanted to give them more of a purpose than just 'teamwork', and then tried to tailor that further to Naruto's dream of being a Kage. I would have written more, but time is short, and I have to go to College now :P, as I missed any writing time this weekend, by staying up in London overnight so I could watch the Liverpool match (which we won :D). However, my time for writing is going to increase even further, because I have just passed my driving test, as well as got my place in Uni next year. So the pressure is off considerably.**

**Next Chapter: New jutsu's and the first C-rank mission. I want to hear what Team you want to be with Naruto out of Team 8 and 10. (I'll be doing the wave arc with Team 7 later on. So chill that _will_ be in my story)**

* * *

**Jutsu**

Raiton: Kaminari Muchi (Lightning Release: Lightning Whip)

Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)

Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique)

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Doton: Doruku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)

Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu (Wind Release: Great Air Cannon)

Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Break Through)

Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mist Covering Technique)


	12. The Power of Combination

_Chapter 12_

Naruto sat a few metres ahead of his Sensei, waiting for his evaluation of where he had gone wrong in his first attempt at a D-rank missions. He was unusually attentive, considering his knowledge that a lecture from Jiraiya was imminent; however the memory of firstly, his failure, and also that of what the failure would have meant in a real mission. His comrades, possibly even a friend, would have been killed. As a direct result of _his_ decisions. Because of his prisoner, he had grown up alone. Other children were told to keep away from him by their parents and carers, and they listened obediently. He had never harbored any resentment towards the children, nor their parents; he had always assumed that it was simply because of something he, or his parents had done (if he even had parents, of course). Even now, when he had at least some of the answers, he found that he didn't hate the parents or children for their actions. Indeed, having come face to face with the Kyuubi no Kitsune himself, he found that he understood the fears of the village perfectly.

However, regardless of this, the damage had been done to Naruto's psyche. His facade was already firmly set into place by the time he had entered the Academy; and to everyone within, he was an eternally loud and 'happy-go-lucky' dead-last. Ironically, looking back, it was his method of coping with his own loneliness that destroyed any chance of him making friends during his time there. The children belonging to some of the major clans he realised, held no ill will to him what so ever. But despite this, the blonde had found himself to drop his mask. And this inevitably put the others off. Of course there were some that didn't outright dislike him. Nara Shikamaru seemed eternally curious and did actually speak to him every now and again, and by association, he also spent some time with Akimichi Chouji who was Shikamaru's best friend. As well as those two, Inuzuka Kiba seemed to appreciate the art of pranking, almost as much as he did. But he would never go as far as to call any of them 'friends'.

As a result, a friend was something he had wanted for as long as he could remember. He of course had precious people now. Iruka, Jiraiya, the Sandaime and even Yuugao; were all utterly precious to him. But they weren't friends as such. They were more like family to him. So to him, the mistake he had made was crushing.

Jiraiya observed his student as he became absorbed in his own internal monologue. It was evident that the blonde had taken the implications of his exercise to hear, which was pleasing as the Sannin had initially been worried that Naruto would not take things seriously. Conversely, Jiraiya did not want his student to be too 'immersed' as it were; as that could tear apart Naruto's confidence, which wasn't as high as Naruto would like people to believe.

"Firstly, I would like to make it clear, that you were not expected to succeed in that mission Naruto. In fact, generally I will be endeavoring to cause you to make mistakes, and sometimes fail as a result." He observed the familiar confused look on Naruto's face, before continuing in oder to cut off the inevitable questioning. "The reason for this, is that it allows you to learn from the mistakes that you do make. If I allowed everything to go to plan for you all the time, it would not punish any errors in your decision making and planning. Learning from actually seeing the consequences of your mistakes, and making changes to your strategy accordingly, is an infinitely better way to learn than me simply telling you where you went wrong. So with that in mind, what do you think went wrong in the exercise we just did?"

Naruto didn't need to think before answering.

"I sent my Bunshin ahead by themselves, whilst i was still fighting your Bunshin."

"That was indeed the most glaring issue. The fact is, you had no real need to do it. I understand that you wanted to keep the cargo out of the way of the battle, but you had my Bunshin on the ropes. It didn't pose a serious enough threat to the mission. As a result, you were separated from them; and as a result, you could not relay vital information about further danger. However, it is important for you to understand that some situations will call for that kind of action. If the enemy was powerful enough, sending some of your party onwards in the hope of giving them a chance of fulfilling the missions objective, is the only option. However, it is a last resort option. It is a strategy that acknowledges that those left behind, will be defeated; and therefore sacrificed for the good of the mission, as well as the safety of their comrades."

Jiraiya saw the mix of understanding and determination on his students face, and smiled. It was a familiar scene to him. His father had been exactly the same when he failed his first D-rank; distraught at first, but utterly determined to improve, and ensure that when he did lead a squad into combat, he wouldn't lose any of his comrades. Of course, life doesn't always play fair, and even the best laid plans could be unraveled. But that was not a lesson that could be taught, it could only be learnt through experience.

"Having said that," Jiraiya continued; "there wasn't much else wrong with how you worked. The only fault I can find is with the Bunshin you deployed underground. Whilst the idea in itself was pretty ingenious, there is a large risk attached to that particular tactic. During the fight, you allowed me to get between you and your Bunshin, leaving it isolated. Had I allowed myself to raise my game, that would be another team-mate dead. Of course, there would be nothing wrong with you using a clone to do that on a real mission. You certainly have the chakra for it, and the Kage Bunshin are, to some extent, expendable."

As Jiraiya finished he fished around in his pocket to produce the map he had used to give Naruto his route.

"Now, I want to spend a bit of time working through different ways you could have approached that particular mission. That way, you have a variety of different ways of approaching different situations at hand."

* * *

Hours had passed, and Jiraiya was absolutely delighted with the way his session on tactics with Naruto had gone. Largely, Jiraiya had allowed Naruto to plan independently, and then he would point out faults and problems with what the blonde had come up with, so he could find a way round the problem. The Sannin found himself incredibly surprised with Naruto's intuitive grasp of strategy. He did have a tendency to overlook minor issues, but that was something that could be improved through practice and experience, two things Jiraiya could help Naruto attain.

He glanced towards the sky, trying to work out the time from the position of the sun. It had been overcast for a few hours, and it would probably rain in the night; and for someone of lesser ability, judging the position of the sun in such condition would have been a difficult task. Fortunately, Jiraiya had spent most of his later years living under an open sky, traveling between the various informants that made up his spy network. This level of experience meant that he only needed a small glance to see that it was late afternoon. They had been talking for far too long, and Jiraiya needed to speak to the Sandaime fairly early. Especially if he wanted to get some 'research' in.

"Okay, listen up gaki." Naruto immediately turned his attention from the map of Konoha to Jiraiya. "We're gonna have to call it quits for today. I have some business I need to attend to."

"As if Ero-sennin! You're just gonna go and do your 'research'!"

Jiraiya gave an involuntary flinch at both is nickname, and the fact that the boy was almost spot on with his predictions.

"For your information, gaki, I have a meeting with the Hokage." _'Yeah for about five minutes, and then it's time for some quality research!' _"But first, I need to explain to you how training is going to work under me. I want you here at 6 a.m every single morning except for Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will spend the first three hours working over anything that doesn't involve large amounts of physical work; for example, things such as strategy, ninjutsu theory and eventually, things such as sealing techniques and working on chakra mastery, which I know you've already spoken about with Yuugao. The rest of the day will change depending on the activities of the other Genin Cells, which makes it tricky to schedule properly. However you will always do at least one D-rank independently, and one with one of the other Cells. The rest of the day, will be spent on the fun stuff. We will be working on taijutsu and ninjutsu, as well as improving your ability to counter genjutsu. Any questions?"

"What will I be doing on Wednesdays and Saturdays?"

At this Jiraiya smirked slightly.

"Well on those days... You'll be doing weapons training with Yuugao."

* * *

_The Next Day_

Naruto finished the relatively short sequence of hand seals and brought his right hand up to his mouth, with his index and middle fingers extended in front of him. He then exhaled heavily, expelling the chakra he had been molding at the back of his throat, and combining it with the chakra gathered at the end of his fingers.

"Katon: Kasumi Endu no jutsu!"

The result was a light mist billowing out from his mouth, filling the majority of the clearing before him. It wasn't heavy enough to obscure his vision, yet it was still thick enough to be clearly visible.

"Yes! I finally did it!" Naruto exclaimed, the excitement in his voice clearly audible.

"About time too, gaki. That's a totally basic technique, the easiest of the ones I want to get you practicing today." Naruto looked up at surprise at this statement.

"You mean this isn't the only jutsu I'm going to be learning today?"

"Of course not. I don't know if you noticed, but this jutsu isn't particularly useful by itself. I'll be teaching you three more jutsu today. One of which you should have down by the time we're finished; the other two however, might take you a few days, if we work at them intensely enough." The blonde struggled to contain his excitement at hearing this. No matter how much he tried to be more serious about his shinobi training, the thought of ninjutsu still sent him overboard. "However, I first want you to join me up here." The Sannin continued, indicating his position in the tree overlooking the clearing. "I'm going to show you exactly how powerful this technique can be."

Naruto was up and sitting next to Jiraiya almost instantly, allowing Jiraiya to start weaving his own set of hand signs.

"Katon: Komakai Kaki."

Jiraiya fired a miniature version of the Goukakyuu no Jutsu directly towards the mist that Naruto had created, and the blonde looked on, curious as to what effect the seemingly tiny fireball could possibly have. Naruto leant forward in fascination as the fireball approached the mist. As the two jutsu finally met, the area the pair had been training in was swept by an unbearable wave of heat, as the mist ignited upon contact, transforming the previously placid area of Konoha into a tangible inferno. Naruto, although not being within the blast radius itself, could feel the hairs on his arms singe from merely the heat created, and despite only seconds passing, he was already beginning to sweat.

"Amazing..." Naruto muttered, as the roaring flames died down, leaving behind the scorched earth as evidence of their existence.

"Glad you liked it." Jiraiya replied, the smugness generated by the blonde praise emanating from him in waves. "But can you tell me why that jutsu combination is entirely useless in a practical combat situation?" Naruto was initially dumbstruck by Jiraiya adamancy that such a powerful attack was useless. However, once he got round to actually think about it, it didn't take him long to see what his Sensei was talking about.

"...Firstly, it would be too slow to activate in a fight against another shinobi. They would just try to get out of the mist, considering that it doesn't cover a particularly large area, or at least disguise how much of an area it _does _cover. Secondly, it would be difficult for you to use the Katon jutsu without getting caught in the blast radius. It also puts any comrades in the vicinity at risk."

"Thats exactly correct." Jiraiya answered, ever so slightly impressed with the improved analytical skills his student was displaying. It was obvious that he had been studying outside of what he had been required to do to catch up.

"So why have me learn it then?" Naruto called back, almost whining. He had spent a good few hours learning the mist technique, and he'd be damned if it was for nothing.

"The reason I taught you Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu, and am about to teach you Katon: Komakai Kaki no Jutsu is three fold. Firstly, Kasumi Endu teaches you to mold Katon chakra from within your lungs, which is what ignites when you use all Katon jutsu. Then, Komaki Kaki will teach you to ignite the chakra using the correct hand seal whilst maintaining enough control so that you do not burn your own mouth. This hand seal is what is missing from the mist technique, preventing it from igniting as it leaves your body. Essentially, this is a far safer, and faster way of learning to use Katon chakra; which is notoriously difficult to handle if it is not your natural elemental affinity. This means that you will be able to learn the third of the jutsu I wish to get you started on today, Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu relatively easily."

"Secondly, this combination can be useful in select situations. Due to the fact that Kasumi Endu, providing it is not ignited, can last for a relatively long time; it can be used to set up particularly devastating ambushes, if you can funnel your enemy into the mist. It can also be used to destroy areas containing multiple structures and buildings, should your mission require it. Thirdly, I wanted to give you an example of exactly how powerful combinations of different elemental jutsu can be, which leads you into the final technique I want to get you practicing today, Fuuton: Daitoppa."

Naruto almost cried out in excitement as he leapt down from the trees, into the barren clearing below, that now looked startlingly out of place amidst the vivid green of Konoha. Jiraiya leapt with him, landing just in front of the boy, so that he was facing him. He formed the ream seal with his hands and created two Kage Bunshin.

"Okay, I want you to create two groups of five Bunshin, and each group join up with one of mine. One group will work on Komaki Kai, and the other will work on Fuuton: Daitoppa. Goukakyuu no Jutsu can wait until you have completely learnt Komaki Kai. I want the original over with me, we're going to work on your taijutsu."

* * *

**I'm afraid I'm going to have to apologise once again for a short chapter, especially given the time it's taken me to get it out. College, and real life has once again conspired against my writing fiction, and I can only write in what little free time I have. Combining that with the need to actually leave the house once in a while, writing time = none. However, this time I shall answer some questions in the reviews. (Again, thank you soooo much for actually taking the time out to review this. It means a lot to me. Seriously.)**

**Mayonaka no Sasayaki: Glad you liked the D-ranks. I'm doing my best to keep things as 'original' as possible. It gets quite dull when the same thing is rehashed over and over again in every fic. The closest thing I can give as a reference for the armor is this: /alt/Naruto/500/cm/last/ - The Uzu armor on the guy on pg 2. Just without the part that goes below the waist. Mine is different, but that was what inspired it.**

**l20: I LIKE CAPS TOO. Seriously though, I appreciate the review :P**

**HeWhoComesWithTheDawn: The wave arc completely does not have to be in the story. I have some serious doubts as to whether I can write the arc, whilst maintaining some form of originality as well as the canon emotiveness, and it still being y'know...good. I think i'll draft it up a few times and see how it looks. If it's a no go, I won't include it. I don't want to spoil what is a very good arc.**

**God-willing, i will be able to get out another fairly short chapter tomorrow (I have a day off College! Yeesss!). If I manage that, it's be a 'part 2' to this chapter, as this one was originally intended to be about 8,000 words long. **

**Thanks for reading (and reviewing), & as always translation are below.**

**Jutsu**

Raiton: Kaminari Muchi (Lightning Release: Lightning Whip)

Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)

Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique)

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Doton: Doruku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)

Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu (Wind Release: Great Air Cannon)

Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Break Through)

Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mist Covering Technique)

Katon: Komakai Kaki no Jutsu (Fire Release: Small Fire Technique)


	13. Naruto's Mask

_Chapter 13_

_The Next Day_

Shikamaru wasn't nearly as stupid as his relatively poor grades at the Academy, and even his overall demeanor would suggest to someone who didn't actually know him. Outwarldly, he was lazy and entirely unimpressive. He was the epitome of average, and he endeavored to ensure that he stayed that way in the opinions of others. That way, he would never have to exert himself. He could just waste his days away, doing low risk, low effort missions, gazing at the clouds and playing shouji.

However, he was sure he had already managed to give away to his Jonin sensei - Sarutobi Asuma, a chain-smoking shinobi, who as well as possessing a fairly keen mind himself (as most Jonin surely did, of course), was also built like a fortress, meaning it was safe to assume he was also a combat expert - that he possesed the potential to be something other than ordinary.

His two team-mates, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka, had surely already demonstrated enough in the few training exercises they had done, to indicate they had the promise to reach the heights that they're Fathers had before them. Choji was already apt in his family's taijutsu style, and could perform several of his family's personal justu with skill rarely equated with someone below the rank of Chunin. Ino too, had mastered a few of her clan's ninjutsu; which focused on the manipulation of the mind. The temperamental blonde combined this with extraordinary ability to psycho-analyse somebody, whilst holding a conversation with the person, simultaneously.

He had decided that he would try to make out that he had no real potential what so ever, by only ever doing what his sensei deemed as the bare minimum to get by. Unfortunately, Asuma had discovered enough to convince himself that Shikamaru had enough potential to be as successful as his father, by attacking his only weak spot. He had challenged him to a game of Shouji.

And thus ensued what could be described as an 'epic' match. It had lasted for three and a half hours, and eventually the Nara had won out. he had been so engaged in the game, that he had failed to realise his mistake until his sensei spoke.

_'Not as average as you'd like to make out. Eh, Shikamaru?' _

He was of course right. Nara Shikamaru, all forms of bragging aside, possessed an incredibly keen mind. Speaking from a Shougi perspective, his mind could work three or four steps ahead of most adults almost instantaneously; thoroughly analysing every possible move that could be made, constructing a counter-move for each, and working out the possible consequences of that particular move. And, as his father had drilled into him from an early age, this would translate to the battefield. And much like his team-mates, he could demonstrate an impressive level of mastery over his clan's techniques as well.

And it was down to his impressive intellect, that when he received a cursory glance from Ino, he knew they were both on precisely the same wavelength. His team had taken one of the obligatory D-rank missions (Ino often referred to them, and rightly so, as slave labour) that all Genin completed before they took on more challenging C - rank missions. The exceptional thing about this particular mission, was that they were being accompanied by one, Uzumaki Naruto; a former Academy class-mate, who had not been appointed to a team.

Instead, he had been apprenticed to an unknown ninja. Which according to his Father, was not particularly unusual amongst graduates with exceptional potential. Indeed, the Yondaime Hokage was apprenticed to a student of the Saindaime, Jiraiya of the Sannin, shortly after graduating. The problem the Nara had, was that his classmate had shown absolutely no potential during his time at the Academy. In fact, Shikamaru had absolutely no idea how the blonde had managed to graduate at all, although he suspected it had something to do with the fact that the Team Assignments had been set back by four weeks.

That was not all. Naruto had always been a topic of heavy discussion between himself and his team-mate Ino. Despite public indifference towards Naruto, the pair had taken somewhat of a 'scientific' interest in him. He had confused the two of them from the moment they had met, Ino especially, as she prided herself on the ability to read people's intentions and emotions. Quite simply, they found him to be un-readable. He had an outward appearance of wearing his emotions on his sleeve, and was constantly loud, energetic and had a permanent grin plastered to his face.

Everyone else took that to be Naruto's true personality, and disregarded him because of it. Shikamaru himself, had been guilty of this too; in fact it was Ino that eventually indicated that something might be awry. It was around a year and a half into their time at the academy that he and Ino first spoke about the blonde. She had just begun training with her family on manipulation of the human mind that could be done without the use of jutsu, and she had been practicing using what she had learnt on their classmates, trying to pinpoint whether they were lying, and how they truly felt over what they were actually saying, or how they were acting. She almost didn't even bother trying this with Naruto, under the notion that as he was so open and honest, he probably wasn't hiding anything.

On hindsight, there was probably a lesson to be learnt for everyone learning to be a ninja. Never disregard anything based on outward appearances. Ino, did in fact try her technique on Naruto, more out of boredom than anything else; and doing so sparked one of the most interesting topics of conversation the three teammates had ever shared, and just about when of the only mysteries that Shikamaru hadn't been able to solve. Because, when Ino tried to read the rambunctious blonde's 'true thoughts', she found nothing. Not a single scrap of emotion, not even what one could witness on the outside. There was no trace of what the blonde really thought or felt, other than what came from his mouth. Ino described it as 'like being whitewashed'. Initially, Shikamaru believed that this was because Naruto was simply completely earnest in his thoughts; however Ino claimed that if that was true, his thoughts would echo his actions. However, instead it was some kind of 'invisible wall' that stopped Ino from reading him.

It took another three months before the trio got any further with the mystery. Ino tried to use her techniques on her own Father as practice, and was met with precisely the same reaction, she was 'whitewashed', so to speak. Naturally, Ino questioned this instantly. Apparently, it was something almost everybody who was a shinobi for more than a few years developed. An outwards personality, or a mask, that they always wore as a coping mechanism for the stresses the life of a ninja could bring. It was virtually impossible to look beyond, apart from by people who have this mechanism themselves. This was also another reason why anyone who wishes to become part of the Torture and Interrogation Department, has to have served in ANBU for more than a year. It would be impossible for anyone be part of ANBU for any length of time without using it to help them cope.

Unfortunately, this only brought more questions. What could possibly have affected Naruto, on a similar level to being a member of ANBU? They knew he was an orphan, but there had been other orphans in their graduating class, and Ino could read all of them. What was different about Naruto?

Today, though... Today was different. Ino had taught both himself and Chouji, the basics of reading people; and they had both become pretty good at it, for their age anyway. So, when Naruto joined them to perform their mission, Shikamaru decided to try to apply what he had learnt. Unfortunately, he was 'whitewashed', and made no further progress. However, about half an hour later something happened.

_[Flashback]_

_Shikamaru groaned loudly, as he watched Naruto stumble down the ladder that he had been climbing, attempting to reach a higher portion of the wall he had been painting. They had been assigned to paint an old man's house, a very rude old man, going by the reaction the four of them got when they knocked to announce their arrival. He seemed to glare at them, for no reason whatsoever, and only stopped when Asuma announced his presence. When they had been shown what they were to paint Naruto immediately and enthusiastically set to work, like something possessed. Shikamaru noted, that while he couldn't tell what Naruto was really thinking, his over exuberance was particularly forced today, like he wasn't comfortable. _

_He also saw, whilst the blonde was desperately trying to wipe paint off of his now spoilt orange jumpsuit, that he had purposefully avoided conversation with any of Team 10; speaking only when it was absolutely necessary to do so, in order not to arouse suspicion. Naruto loudly cursed his both his luck and the paint, despite the fact that it was his own clumsiness that was at fault. That was when it happened. A man appeared in a loud puff of smoke, and picked Naruto up by the collar of his jumpsuit, and put him back down, standing up. He was an incredibly odd looking man, with incredibly long, spiky white hair; and a headband with kanji inscribed on it (whatever it said, Shikamaru couldn't read it from where he was standing), which replaced the symbol of Konoha. Which seemed incredibly strange to the Nara, considering exactly who the man was. Jiraiya of the Sannin; student of the Sandaime, the man who trained the Yondaime, and probably the most powerful ninja the village had to offer, the Hokage aside._

_This of course, meant that Jiriaya, the man who had trained Namikaze Minato, the single most feared ninja of that generation, had hand-picked Naruto to become his apprentice. 'More questions! This is so... troublesome.'_

_"Naruto, you need to stop this, there's no need for you to keep it up anymore."_

_Naruto himself didn't answer, and simply avoided Jiraiya's eyes; his facial features contorted into an unusual mixture of sullenness and frustration. Jiraiya simply sighed at Naruto's reaction, and placed his left hand firmly on the blonde's shoulder, and glanced sideways at Asuma, who had been watching over the Genin's progress. _

_"I need to speak to my student, do you mind if I take him off your hands for a few minutes?"_

_Asuma simply nodded in response, as the two vanished in another puff of smoke, the same way in which Jiraiya had arrived._

_[/Flashback]_

It had been over twenty minutes since Naruto had gone, and Ino was beginning to get ever so slightly unnerved. She had never been a friend of his, but they were both at the Academy, and they were comrades; and whilst she did find him perpetually irritating, the fact that she was aware that his behavior could be a veil for something else, prevented her dislike for him reaching the levels of vehemence that Sakura among others, tended to show towards him. He felt sorry for him, in that respect, as no matter how much affection he showered her with; it was really quite coldly rejected, more because of Sakura's own insecurity, than anything else. She was not rejecting Naruto, so much as rejecting the notion that she was worth such adulation from anyone. That was one of the reasons she was so set on Sasuke. The fact that he practically ignored her, confirmed her own evaluations of her own self-worth.

Of course, that naturally didn't justify the way she treated Naruto. Ino herself, could be particularly mean to him when he was at his most annoying; but Sakura seemed to go out of her way to either hit him, or make him feel miserable. That brought her back to her original train of thought. Naruto, today. She, was damn good at reading people, it was one of the things she took pride in the most. And, despite that, for as long as she'd known him, Naruto had always been a complete enigma. However, already in the short time they had been together, the veil surrounding the blonde had begun to crack, and hints of the 'real' Naruto could be glimpsed beyond. It was only ever at choice moments, only every now and again could a slight hint of his true emotions could be seen, if only for a fleeting moment.

Until Jiraiya came.

Then the mask cracked enough to be able to make out what was beyond it. Ino couldn't decipher what it was though, however familiar it felt. But it was eerily reminiscent of a feeling she knew intimately, yet at the same time could not identify exactly what it was. But what she did know, was that it was not an emotion that she enjoyed at all, and the enormity of what Naruto felt far eclipsed her personal experiences of it. It made her feel sick. She now knew with every fibre of her being that Naruto, for years, had needed help. Help that had never arrived.

Suddenly, there was a clang coming from Shikamaru's direction, as he dropped his can of paint. Ino turned towards him, shaken from her musings by the loud noise, only to be met with the Nara staring, slightly slackjawed, in the direction of the gate to the house they were working on. Following Shikamaru's line of sight, she looked towards whatever had given him such surprise, and very nearly dropped her own can of paint.

It was Naruto, and it was a Naruto almost completely different from what they were used to.

Gone was the heinous orange jumpsuit. In it's place, was what Ino felt assured was 'proper' shinobi attire. He was wearing standard shinobi combats, complete with three different hip worn holsters, which in itself was unusual. He also wore a black shinobi shirt, tied off with bandages that ran entirely along his forearm; but such minor detail was entirely overpowered by what Ino would call the 'centre-piece' of his outfit. It was some kind of armor, but she hadn't ever seen anything like it. It was a deep red, and clearly made out of the same stern material that ANBU armor was created with, yet it covered more of his body, and looked to still retain flexibility.

However, that his clothing was relatively unimportant, in comparison to the difference in Naruto's outward personality. Gone was the faked exuberance and wide plastered on grin. Standing before Team 10 was an entirely different animal. He was nervous for a start, eyeing each of them desperately, attempting to gauge reaction. Ino wanted to say he looked shy, but that wasn't exactly right. He seemed to crave acceptance from them, as if he thought that showing a different side of his personality, his 'true self', would warrant instant rejection. It was completely alien to Ino, to be able to associate such a feeling from Naruto. He was clearly petrified, of a rejection that he perceived as inevitable, and it was clear that he had been at least somewhat coerced into showing a more 'honest' self to them. It also made her cast her mind back to her time at the Academy. What if naruto had been like this underneath, all this time? How exactly, did all those times he was rebuked in offers of friendship )or just plain ignored), all those times he was laughed at, and insulted, how exactly did that make him feel? Once again, Ino found herself feeling queasy, as though she knew the answer through experience, yet couldn't somehow relate the experience to herself.

Shikamaru, of course, was thinking miles ahead of her, and had already gathered his own thoughts enough to figure out how to react to this new Naruto.

"Whoah, Naruto. That looks pretty good, makes a nice change from that troublesome bright orange, you know?" Shikamaru glanced back at Ino once again, prompting her to try and speak up in support. She looked at Naruto, who was eyeing Shikamaru with a mixture of a kind of guarded, delgihted surprise, and suspicion. Almost as though wanted to believe the Nara, but couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

"Yeah Naruto, that armor looks really cool! It must of cost quite a lot." She added, relatively honestly. He did look pretty cool. Not on the same level as Sasuke, obviously, but cool none the less. Naruto simply regarded Ino in shock, obviously not expecting a compliment from someone who was so infatuated with Sasuke. Chouji didn't allow Naruto much time to think about it, however.

"Where did you get that kind of armor from, Naruto? It reminds me of the Akimichi family armor. It's really impressive."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a kind of embarrassed pleasure, which worried Ino more than she would usually care to admit. Who gets so flustered over such small compliments? They hadn't really been any more complimentary than what was polite, when talking to someone who has bought new clothes. It didn't sit well with her that he was so shocked by their words, and so elated that they were complimentary.

"It was made in Konoha, but the design actually comes from Uzushiogakure, a village we used to be allies with, before the Kyuubi destroyed it. It's pretty rare to have any armor like this still around, so it was really lucky for me to find it, even though I didn't know how rare it was at the time."

The blonde spoke with massive enthusiasm still, but Ino couldn't help but notice that everything that he said now sounded a lot more earnest than it did when it was laced in that, over the top half shout, that she remembered his voice being. They were seeing the real Naruto.

"That's incredibly interesting and everything, but perhaps it would be a better idea to hold the history lesson _after_ you've finished here?"

Apparently, they had all forgotten about the presence of Team 10's sensei, Asuma. But with a grumble, that impressively was in unison, the four got back to their previous work. Although now, they conversed whilst they worked, with Naruto now being far more open with the three of them. And the day continued like this for another two hours, the Genin finishing the man's house, and moving on to another mission, this time walking some of the Inuzuka dogs. All the while, they talked about their time since the Genin exam, and their experiences now that they were Genin.

However, despite Naruto's much more open nature; Ino still couldn't help but feel that there was something about him that she had missed. She couldn't quite place it, and every time she tried, an uncomfortable sense of familiarity arose. What she did know however, was that whenever she got close to the answer, she felt sick to the stomach.

* * *

Naruto couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he opened the door to Training Ground 56, the secret training area he and Yuugao-sensei would be using to learn how to use a weapon. He couldn't believe how well things had gone, once Jiraiya had convinced him to drop the act. He was terrified that he would be rejected if he acted normally, but he needn't have worried. team 10 were far friendlier than he remembered anyone his own age being to him, ever. It was weird to be able to just talk to someone, the way they had during the D-rank missions, and the experience was enough to convince him to act normally around everyone, from now on. He even dared to hope, that at some point hey would be willing to call themselves his friends, as alien a concept as that was to him, just the possibility alone thrilled him. The only people he was still apprehensive about meeting were Sakura and Sasuke, especially Sakura. But he could cross that bridge when he came to it.

To top that off; today he was going to start learning to use a weapon. Since he was a small child, he had dreams of using a katana, or something equally as awesome, so the thought of actually getting the opportunity to learn to use one was exiting, to say the least.

He passed through the door way, into the main area of the training ground, and was greeted by the sight of Yuugao, standing behind a table complete with her usual serene smile. However, the rest of her was inherently different. Before, she had been wearing a plain black kimono, with the brilliant white grip of her katana still visible over her shoulder. Today, she was dressed as though she meant business. She wore skin tight black shorts that went down to knee height, and on either thigh, kunai holsters were tied on with bandages. On her torso, she wore a long dark red coat with a high neck, that whilst being done up on her upper torso, was undone on her lower half; allowing the coat to flow around her, as well as exposing her stomach. Her katana's grip was visible above her right shoulder as always, however now, she had second at her left hip, it's grip the same brilliant white as the first. All in all, it was an entirely different Yuugao from what Naruto had previously seen either in training, or when she was on duty with ANBU.

It was the table in front of his sensei that really got Naruto excited, though. It was littered with broad selection of weapons, with everything from katana, to kusarigama and from a quarterstaff to a mace. There was even a blowgun and a set of bolas.

"Good afternoon Naruto." Yuugao said, distracting the blonde from his daydreaming. "You are probably wondering why, I have brought along so many weapons, correct?"

Naruto nodded in reply, still struggling to take his eyes off of the array of weapons.

"Well, instead of teaching you to fight with a weapon in a particular style, for example the Mugai-ryu school of Battojutsu; I intend to teach you to to use a weapon that can be adapted into your taijutsu style, which means it has to be exactly the right kind of weapon for you. It needs to flow with your movements, rather than you having to adjust your movement to use it, as you would if I were to just come out and teach you a katana style, for instance. Do you understand?"

"I think so." Naruto stated, still thinking as he spoke. "You want a find something that works for me, naturally. So I don't have to change around everything that I've learnt so far. Right?"

"That's partially correct. I think you will understand what I mean a bit better with some 'practical' explanations." At this, naruto could have sworn that Yuugao's grin changed subtly, into something slightly more sinister. "Pick up a weapon and come at me, Naruto. Try and treat the one that you choose as an extension of yourself, and use your Kage Bunshin in the same way as you would in a taijutsu fight."

Yuugao slowly drew both of her katana, and slid her leading foot back, ever so slightly, placing herself in a defensive stance. Her blades were both held, seemingly casually, so that they were angled downwards, crossing each other and almost touching the ground. It was one of Yuugao's favorite defensive stances. It had hundreds of apparent openings, all of which she had covered with a simple flick of one of her wrists. It enhanced her image of helplessness. It made it even more likely that she would be underestimated.

Naruto, grinning wildly at his sensei's invitation, grabbed for the blade that had caught his eye when he first entered the training ground.

He was so certain that he was going to love this.

* * *

**Well I'm not entirely sure what I should say about this chapter. It could be said that Ino and Shikamaru were both pretty OOC in this, and I would probably have to agree. But this isn't canon, and I actually like a slightly more serious I & S (Ino especially); and at the end of the day, I had written 3,000 words, so re-writing that can just fuck right off. I want them to be more serious, and intelligent (again, I'm specifying Ino here, as Kishi seems to be fixated with making girls decidedly helpless in comparison to the males), whilst at the same time retaining some of their canon personality. You'll see me elaborate on that more as the story progresses. I tried a slightly more POV narrative kind of thing with this chapter, as it seemed to fit better, with what i wanted to get across. So hopefully you all don't find that too 'troublesome' (LOL). I'd also like to make a quick apology, because I have just realised Chouji has been completely neglected. I swear to remedy that soon.**

**Another groveling part here, too. A family member passed away on friday, and I have been staying away from home, and haven't been able to write at all, which is why this chapter took so long to get out. **

**This has been building up pretty slowly so far. And next chapter I promise some plot will head your way. That's right. Actual plot. Also, a C-rank. And a jutsu. And Naruto's new weapon. And Yuugao. Basically, next chapter will be all kinds of bad ass, by way of an apology for the long wait for this one.**

**Ummm, I'll be putting the translations for some of the stuff that Yuugao mentioned up in a bit, so don't go pulling your hair out just yet, 'cos it's not there.**

**Whisky, I believe, is a fantastic way to stimulate creativity. Providing you can stay literate, of course.**

**Review Answers**

**vagabound xxx: ** Are you... hitting on me? Seriously though, I'm sorry for that. But it was something I wanted to sort out, at it was all I had time to do at that point. Glad you've enjoyed what I've written so far. :)

**Melikalilly: **I'm delighted that you've enjoyed it so far! Please, keep reading.

**Rixell Stryfe: **Thaks for the reviews, especially since you're someone who's reviewed more than a few times. It means a lot. I understand that it's a little OOC for Jiraiya, but that was intentional. I think he would make such a briliant teacher if he was a little more serious. (Like I believe he was with Nagato and Minato)

**Wolfenden: **Glad you like what I'm trying to do! If he goes to wave it will be with Team 7, yes (although I'm still not decided whether he will actually go or not.) I've already drafted Sai in as the third member of team 7 (chapter 6 or 7 I think?). Jiraiya will be present for some of the missions Naruto will do. Otherwise it will be Yuugao + other sensei.

**notgonnasay09: **Good to see you back, man! As far as elemental jutsu goes, I think the manga gets misinterpreted quite a bit. I think that whilst you're affinity improves you're skill with you're own element; I don't see how it would reduce your ability with others. Either way, you don't get all that much info in canon, so I'm free to go where i want with it XD

**Duder Skanks: **Apparently, I owe you an apology. That was some delay on my part. Happy Birthday though!

**Translations**

**Battojutsu** (A Japanese term meaning techniques engaging a sword. More specific the 'Kenjutsu'.)

**Mugai-ryu** (A Japanese martial arts school founded by Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi. A traditional school of swordsmanship (i.e prior to 1866)


	14. Sansetsukon

_Chapter 14_

Naruto ducked under an infuriatingly casual horizontal slash, aimed at his neck. Yuugao-sensei was _incredible_ with her katana. Every time he went to attack, she batted him aside like he was absolutely nothing. He hadn't gotten her to move from the place she started at, in the entire fifteen minutes they had been sparring for.

Wordlessly, he created a Bunshin behind Yuugao, which stabbed at her thighs with it's katana that has also been cloned. Without even looking, Yuugao simply stepped over the attack, and slammed her foot downwards with force upon the flat edge of the blade, snapping it into two. Then, with the same motion, she rotated her hips and drove her other foot into the cheekbone of the Bunshin, breaking the bone just before it dispelled. The original Naruto, at the lowest point of his duck used the momentum of his straightening body to perform an upwards vertical slash, which Yuugao sidestepped, with a hint of what could easily be mistaken for arrogance.

The blonde summoned another Bunshin on Yuugao's left side, which performed a diagonal slash across the Jonin. Yuugao turned her body slightly to face the clone; and with her blades crossed as they were in her initial stance, both blocked the attack, while at the same time moving inside the Bunshin's guard, Naruto's blade sliding forward between Yuugao's and being diverted over her shoulder. Using the momentum from her step she drove her elbow into the Bunshin's face, instantly dispelling it.

The Jonin instantly went on the attack after destroying the Bunshin, not giving the blonde any time to orchestrate his next move. Using the katana in her right she stepped towards her student and delivered a vicious strike at Naruto's midriff. Once again, the blonde parried the blow; and once again, he was forced into using both of his hands, despite the fact that Yuugao had seemed to put very little effort into the attack. However, he was not to be given much time to think about his sensei's technique, as Yuugao had already launched her next attack, a fast strike aimed straight at his left kidney. He managed to parry his sensei's attack once more, this time having to use only one hand in order to grant himself the extra flexibility needed to block fast enough. This had it's own consequences however, and his entire arm was jarred by the force of the attack.

Yuugao took full advantage of this, and aimed a kick at her student's hand, disarming him and sending his katana flying across the training ground, the clatter as it hit the floor echoing around the room.

"Naruto, we are trying to find a weapon that suits _you_, remember? You need to move onto the next weapon as soon as you know the one you're using isn't working, okay? Now go pick another.

The blonde bit back the protests that had immediately begun to form on the tip of his tongue. After all, he knew his sensei was right. He had been able to feel within the first couple of minutes of sparring that the katana wouldn't work for him. It forced him to alter the rhythm of his movements far too much, and as a result, prevented him from being able to string together his attacks fluidly; as well as disrupting his ability to defend and immediately try to launch a counter to keep his opponent on the back foot.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked towards the table upon which Yuugao had laid out weapons for him to try, and begun to decide which weapon he would try next.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, we have received an update from Team Kamiko."

Sarutobi turned his attention from the dwindling piles of paperwork on his desk, to his secretary, who had just entered the room.

"Ah, Team Kamiko. They were part of an escort mission to Kumo, were they not?" Sarutobi asked, his curiosity piqued. They were Chunin on a relatively simple mission, and had already sent a report detailing that they had been successful, and were returning to Konoha.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. However, they have come across an injured Sunagakure ninja, on the border to Hi no Kuni. As we are allied to Suna, the have applied emergency field treatment to the ninja. However, they believe that his injuries are too serious for him to be able to make it back to Kaze no Kuni without an escort and additional medical treatment. The Suna ninja has stated that Sunagakure is currently unable to provide their own support due to a particularly high mission load. They cannot commit further shinobi without comprimising Suna's defences, and have therefore officially requested a C-rank escort mission for their shinobi"

Sarutobi had to pause in order to think. Team Kamiko was comprised of four Chunin, and as such, were too much of Konoha's manpower to commit to such a relatively minor mission. This in turn, meant that he would need to assign a genin team, for this mission. Team 8 had just been assigned their first C-rank, so they were definitely out of the question. As for Team 7, both Kakashi and himself had serious doubts as to whether they were ready for a C-rank mission; and Kakashi had requested some time to remedy this, before the council inevitably attempted to throw the Uchiha in at the metaphorical deep-end.

Which of course, left only Naruto and Team 10. However, Asuma had just been sent off on an emergency mission, leaving Team 10 with no sensei. Jiraiya was also due out of the village, in order to investigate a tip-off about the 'Chikyū no Terāzu' joining up with the mysterious organization 'Akutsuki'; a group to shrouded in secrecy that even Jiraiya hadn't been able to find out much about them, which would scream 'danger' to anyone, let alone some one as experienced as Sarutobi. The revelation that his traitorous old student, Orochimaru had once been amongst their ranks, made Jiraiya's investigation vital to village security.

However, for the situation in hand at least, Sarutobi _did_ know of a solution.

The elderly Kage reached for a loose bit of paper, and scribbled something down, before handing it to his secretary.

"Get me these shinobi. And send a message to Team Kamiko that a relief squad is being sent to take over."

He just hoped he wasn't sending the Genin he had in mind out too soon. He always felt slightly ill at ease whenever he sent his shinobi out on missions, but it was even worse when he sen out fresh Genin. There was always the chance one or more wouldn't come back. A child that would never return to their loved ones. And, despite the strong faith he held in all of his shinobi, he knew he risk as always there. However, it was his duty as Hokage, irrespective of his feelings. The Genin were the only ones for the job, without compromising the strength of the village; and, on top of that, he had total faith in the Jonin that would accompany them.

* * *

Naruto leapt back from Yuugao, avoiding a slash aimed at his torso. He groaned in frustration and threw the tonfa he had been using to the floor, which was now littered with discarded weapons. Panting heavily, he glanced back to the table. The blowgun that had caught his eye before he began remained, along with another staff. He had already used a quarterstaff that had been crafted with a coating of steel, enabling it to be used in combat against bladed weapons, but it had been too slow and cumbersome - not exactly suited to his style of fighting. However this staff was leaner, although about the same length. Interestingly, it had two obvious joints that effectively split the staff into three; although, as far as Naruto could see they served little to no purpose. Which piqued his curiosity enough to pick it up. Well it was that, and the fact that his only other choice was blowgun.

As he lifted the weapon from the table he was shocked at how light it was, yet still felt sturdy, as if it was made out of steel. He instinctively began to twirl it in his hands, and wandered at how agile it felt in comparison to the quarterstaff. He moved to strike the air, to get a feel for the way in which the weapon should be used, and flowed naturally into a series of short, sharp jabs with either end of the staff. Yet another way in which the weapon differed from the conventional. A staff usually looked to perform powerful, but slow blows with the side of he staff, rather than its tips.

"It is a very unique weapon." Yuugao began, clawing Naruto's attention away from his own thoughts. "It is made from an fairly rare wood that originates, believe it or not, from Kaze no Kuni. The tree that was used to create this weapon is unique, in that it's wood can conduct, and channel chakra; and is most commonly used to create chakra paper, which as you know from your studies is used to discern ones elemental affinity. However, in the case of this weapon, it means that you can channel chakra through it. As well as this, the person who made this particular weapon, enhanced the wood with chakra as he was crafting it, making it incredibly difficult to break or destroy, nullifying any perceived vulnerability it had."

Only a few weeks ago, Yuugao's words would have gone straight over the Genin's head. It was a testament to how far he had come along that he understood everything his sensei had told him. He hadn't stopped at academy knowledge either. At the advice of Hatake Kakashi, a decidedly odd Jonin who had stopped to give Naruto advice, and had even let him use one of his jutsu scrolls to learn a new technique; he had continued reading about the world of shinobi, and continued to learn, too. He had branched out in his reading material too, strategy, basic field usable first aid, genjutsu, use of weapons, and chakra theory of a more advanced level than what was taught in the academy. He had even kept up with geography and history, at Iruka's advice. And he had to admit, he simply didn't understand how an earth he had come to the conclusion that all that 'boring book stuff' would never be useful for a ninja.

Of course, there was still even more that he could have been working on. He hadn't gone back to see Iruka to continue working on his chakra control, and focus in his training sessions with Jiraiya had been primarily focused on ninjutsu so far, leaving him with little time to push his taijutsu any further. On top of that, he still hadn't even thought about doing anything practical with genjutsu, either casting or dispelling. He had looked briefly in the library for some basic genjutsu, but most recommended that a chakra control exercise called 'tree-walking' should ideally be learnt prior to beginning with them; and Naruto didn't want to risk trying techniques that he had such little knowledge about, before he was absolutely sure he was ready.

Naruto abandoned his train of thought, and turned towards his sensei. It was all very well reflecting on his progress and singling out areas for improvement, but he had more immediate things to worry about.

"Are you ready to try again Yuugao-sensei?" Naruto asked. Although, you wouldn't think Yuugao had even sparred with him at all, just by looking at her. She wasn't breathing even slightly heavily, and looked totally relaxed; whereas Naruto was beginning to look more and more disheveled as the training wore on.

Seeing his sensei nod, and adopt the same defensive stance she had begun their training session with; Naruto shifted his grip on his weapon and charged, knowing his sensei would allow him to attack, in order to get a feel for the weapon.

'_I've just realised...Yuugao-sensei didn't even tell me what the weapon was called'_

He wasn't even sure it mattered, as he got into range of his sensei and immediately leveled a jab aimed straight at her head. Watching his sensei casually sidestep his initial strike he instantly created a Bunshin directed behind her, which attempted to strike her in the back. In response she shifted her footing and turned the 180 degrees, and decapitated the Bunshin with ease. She had intentionally left her back exposed, and Naruto understood the implications immediately. It was both intended to goad him, as she had already taught him that you should never expose your back to an enemy that you feel could ever strike you; and to leave an opening, inviting him to take advantage. A trap, essentially. And the blonde feigned to fall for it, crouching down and attacking the leg that she had the majority of her weight on, in order to upset her balance. Of course, Yuugao expected such an attack, and immediately lifted her leg and pivoted in order to strike at the now exposed Naruto.

What she didn't expect however, was for a Bunshin to use the crouched blonde's back for leverage in order to launch a vicious diving lunge at her face. Her instincts, honed through years of training and experience kicked in, and she threw herself backwards, planting her hands on the ground over her swords and kicked out with both legs, making contact with the clone as it flew over her, dispelling it with an audible crunch. She continued her backwards flipping motion, landing perfectly in a crouched position, both katana's already in her hands. However, no sooner had she returned her attention to the blonde, he was on top of her, himself and his bunshins launching in to a series of attacks, each flowing into each other perfectly. The difference in his movement with his current weapon, from when he was using the others, was phenomenal. And for the first time during their session, she was on the back foot.

Naturally, she wasn't taking the fight all that seriously, Naruto was still only a genin after all. All the same, the blonde, despite having no training with the weapon what so ever, was performing exceptionally well. It was clear that this weapon suited him to a tee. Now all she needed to do, was show him that the object in his hands was not merely a staff, although it's clever design meant that it could be used as one. '_Unfortunately'_, she thought, sensing the presence that had just entered the training grounds, '_I will not to be given the time in order to do so. Not just yet, anyway.' _

Naruto too, had noticed the extra presence, and stopped his attacks, turning his attention to the new figure in the room. Yuugao also turned to meet the man, although she already knew who it was.

"Uzumaki Naruto is to report to the Hokage within the next thirty minutes for a mission. He is to come prepared for an escort mission lasting at least a week, possibly more, and should be ready to leave immediately after briefing."

Naruto glanced to his sensei, who nodded to him, without taking her attention away from the ANBU who had come to deliver the message.

"You should get going Naruto. You know what you need to bring from your studies, though I would recommend that you bring extra ninja wire and other trap making gear, just in case you're client is definitely being targeted. Also, I want you to take the weapon with you; it might come in useful, especially since you'll only be going out on a C-rank mission. You might even be going with a Jonin who knows how to use one, and might be able to show you a thing or two, if you've got time."

"Right." Naruto replied, trying to process the information he had just been given, before moving to leave the room.

"Oh, and Naruto; it's called a Sansetsukon."

Naruto stopped dead, once again trying to process the new information.

"But a Sansetsukon is a three-"

"Get moving. Figure it out later." Yuugao interjected, causing Naruto to stir into action once more. Nodding in the affirmative , Naruto set off, actually managing to leave the training ground this time.

"I take it the Hokage wants me present for the briefing? Should I be in ANBU attire, or not?"

"It's entirely up to you, Uzuki-san. Although, Hokage-sama would like you to say out of sight throughout, unless you need to interject."

"Thank you, ANBU-san." Yuugao replied.

The masked figure didn't bother to indicate he had heard her, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"That guy is always so rude when he puts on that mask. No sense of humor, either." Yuugao muttered to herself, before leaving the training ground herself and heading towards the Hokage tower.

She had to make it there early, after all.

* * *

"So all of you understand the mission objectives?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We are to rendezvous with Team Kamiko, give them their new orders, and then, administer further first aid to the injured Suna-nin and escort him back to Sunagakure once he can be transported safely. We leave immediately." Replied a certain Hatake Kakashi, his usual lazy drawl replaced with a serious tone, reserved only for receiving orders.

Sarutobi gazed at the shinobi he had selected for the mission. Uzumaki Naruto was a given, especially after his rapid progression since his 'graduation'. Sarutobi could see the excitement burning behind his eyes, despite his attempts to remain serious and calm during the briefing. Him even attempting to remain serious told Sarutobi all he needed to know about how far the boy had come. Alongside him stood Nara Shikamaru, the only person Asuma had deemed ready to undertake a C-rank mission. Once again, this genin's exterior appearance disguised the mind within. He appeared almost bored, and reluctant to be here. Yet, after years of working with his father, and even his grandfather before that, the Hokage could practically see the gears turning in his head. Possible formations, routes, likely opposition, his teams capabilities; you name it, the child was working it through in his head, planning everything he could and covering almost every conceivable eventuality.

Thirdly, there was Inuzuka Hana; a 15 year old Genin who had been training to be a medic-nin, alongside her clans training as a vet. She excelled at both, and was one of the most capable healers at the Konoha hospital, despite her relatively tender age. She had been deemed as all that was necessary in order to treat the Suna-nin's injuries to the extent where he would be able to move. She could also hold her own in combat, if needs be; although she was far more capable alongside the three of her ninken. They were being left behind, still recovering from injuries from a previous mission.

"Good," Sarutobi started. "If there are any problems, report to me as soon as possible."

"I take it Konoha will be keeping a close watch on this mission?" Kakashi spoke cryptically, earning curious looks from all three Genin present. They weren't aware of the other presence, hidden in the shadows of the room, where the ANBU usually concealed themselves.

"Naturally. Although, we'll stay out of your way. You're in complete command, Kakashi." Sarutobi took a quick breath before continuing. "I advise you begin now. Try to get as much distance between Konoha and yourselves as you can before nightfall. You are dismissed."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Kakashi nodded towards the Hokage before turning towards his three new team-members; with his eye curved into something that could only be assumed was a smile.

"Well then, lets get moving!"

* * *

"Those bastard Konoha ninjas! They will have definitely called for back-up by now." Spoke a figure hidden by the shadows, looking down into canyon below, where a Suna ninja was propped up next to a rock, conversing with a group of four Konoha ninjas around him.

"Relax. They will have sent for medical relief and an escort by now, then they will return to their village. The escort will be comprised mostly of Genin, and therefore vulnerable. Konoha can't afford to commit more than that to escort a foreign ninja. Another voice spoke in response, "So we'll wait for the relief, and these shinobi to leave. And then-"

"And then we'll kill them!" The first voice interrupted, the excitement evident in his voice.

"Of course. We'll kill every last one of them, and then take what we came for."

* * *

**I have returned! And I took my time about it too. I posted about my absence, and a little bit of what is to come in my blog (and possibly groveled a little, too), which you'll find a link to on my profile. Anyway, in this chapter, I tried to ease myself back into writing as much as anything else. Naruto has now chosen the weapon he will be using, now he just needs to figure out that the damn things not a staff! I plan to have kakashi clue him in, eventually. I also kick-started the first C-rank mission, and naturally, things are going to go wrong for naruto and co. The absence of Ino and Chouji will be explained a little further next chapter, albeit briefly.**

**You will noticed that I tampered with Hana's age to suit my story. This is now fact, as far as 'Inheritance' goes. Live with it. My story, I'll fuck with the naruto-verse any which way I like :P. **

**Once again I appreciate all of the positive, and the negative reviews. A special shout out goes to Genjutsu Gladiator and MrNeedstoRemoveAllFavs for pointing out two glaring errors. I will try to remedy these asap, once I've found out the relevant points in the manga itself to try and get my facts straight. **

**Sansetsukon - **Three sectioned staff, or 'coiling dragon staff' (if my memory serves me correctly). Naruto's confusion at the end stems from the fact that this staff is made from three sections, usually linked via chains.


	15. A C Rank Mission: The Wounded Shinobi

_Chapter 15_

Kakashi glanced back over his shoulder at his makeshift team of almost totally green Genin. To be totally honest, he was relieved that his first ever mission leading a Genin team, was not with his own Genin. His just never took to the ethos he wanted in a squad that was led by him. Sai kept himself to himself, and to anyone who new what to look for, it was blindingly obvious he had been trained by Danzou. It wasn't that he could control his emotions particularly well, it was more so that he had no emotions to speak of. He had been conditioned to an inhumane level, and Kakashi doubted his ability, or that of the rest of his team, to break him down. Not only that, Sai was streets ahead of any Genin Kakashi had ever seen.

As far as his teams ability to complete missions went, that in itself wasn't a problem. It was how his team reacted to Sai's ability that was. Uchiha Sasuke, was his biggest concern. Openly driven by revenge, the boy had major insecurities about his own ability, well covered by his supposed superiority over his classmates. However, Sai had utterly destroyed that false perception, and Sasuke had been enraged by it. He had closed himself of from the rest of his team, and devoted himself to gaining strength, even more so than before. Kakashi couldn't get through to him, Sai didn't have a reason to and Sakura couldn't see that anything was wrong.

Sakura herself, in comparison to her other team-mates, was a minor inconvenience. She had some serious talent, but no motivation to use it. She spent too much time worrying about diets, clothes and impressing Sasuke to devote any energy to improving herself as a shinobi. Kakashi knew she would eventually learn. Either through her own thoughts and reflections, or the hard way, through losing a team-mate, or suffering a serious injury (even though Kakashi would do his utmost to prevent the last two options).

Trying to lead his first mission as a sensei with his own team would be incredibly difficult. However, as it stood, the three Genin he was now leading, seemed to be getting on incredibly well. Naruto was currently listening to the Inuzuka girl, Hana, tell animated tales of her experiences on missions with her own team; whilst Shikamaru was walking slightly ahead of them, trying to look bored and hide his interest in the conversation, or more specifically, Naruto. The Nara occasionally interjected, attempting to fish for information about the blonde, who was being more open than Kakashi supposed Shikamaru had ever seen him, or at least more true to himself.

Shikamaru's questioning of Naruto indicated to the Jonin that some of the blonde's age group had noticed something wasn't quite right for Naruto, and that maybe, as a result, had tried to make Naruto's life a little bit better. True or not, it made Kakashi feel at least a little bit less guilty. Of course, he would do his best to make it up to Naruto himself, the only ways he thought he could. Firstly by telling him as much as he could about his father, as soon as he got the chance; secondly, by teaching Naruto shinobi arts whenever the opportunity arose. He had already started with the latter, if only a little; and from what he had heard, Naruto had taken what he had said on board, and dived into some extracurricular reading. On top of that, he had managed to learn the jutsu that Kakashi had given to him, and already managed to adapt it in such a way that only he could. _'I mean, an underground Bunshin ambush? Itachi would have been proud of that one.' _The thought of Itachi had given Kakashi another idea for a jutsu he could teach the blonde. Unfortunately, that one might have to wait a bit. It was a jutsu that suited Naruto down to a tee, but that was the big risk. This particular jutsu was... explosive, to say the least.

For now, Kakashi thought, eyeing the weapon hastily fastened to the blonde's back; he should probably focus on things that were perhaps a little bit more basic.

"Say, Naruto." Kakashi said, interrupting the conversation between the Genin. "How much do you know about the weapon you have on your back? I know it can't of been that long ago that you first started using it, because there's nothing about it on your file."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in thought before answering.

"Well I only just started using it while I was training with Yuugao-sensei before I got sent out on this mission, so I really don't have any experience with it at all. I only bought it in case I got a bit of free time to experiment with it; I wouldn't risk trying to use it in an actual fight just yet, although I like to think I was pretty good just using it as a staff."

"And what do you mean by 'just using it as a staff', Naruto?" The masked Jonin enquired, his eye curved once again, creating what can only really be described as an 'eye-smile'.

"Well, I know it's called a Sansetsukon, and I've seen them before. They are a like a staff cut into three sections, joined by chains. But this..." Naruto trailed off, indicating to his weapon in order to make his point, which he now held in his hands.

"And what do you know about the wood it was made out of?" Kakashi asked, eye-smile still firmly in place.

"It was made from a tree that can only be found in Kaze no Kuni, and things made from its wood are able to channel chak-" Naruto stopped dead as the realisation hit him, once again seemingly unable to finish his own sentence, and Kakashi had to stop himself from snorting with laughter at the over the top groan of frustration that escaped from the blonde.

"It's so obvious!" The blonde exclaimed, irritated at his own failure to work out how to use the Sansetsukon himself. And while Kakashi partially agreed with him, it wasn't all the blonde's fault. He had spent the vast majority of his life both stunted in his education, and intentionally trying to act the fool as part of the facade he had put up, in order to avoid thinking about how lonely he was. And as a result, the way of thinking developed in those conditions, was incredibly hard to displace. Naruto's desire to improve, as well as the use of the Kage Bunshin, was helping him overcome his deficiencies; however, as naruto was now finding out, old habits die hard. Whilst he was immeasurably better than he was before, his mind still occasionally slipped up as a result of how rapid his turn around had been. He would still struggle with some things others might call easy, and he might not notice things others would think obvious still, but these occasions were rare, and getting rarer still all the time.

"Don't worry about it. Why don't you try channelling your chakra through it, and we'll see if a can't teach you a few things about the mechanics of the weapon?"

Naruto, in response, turned his attention to the Sansetsukon. Gripping the weapon with his right hand, he concentrated on his own chakra, molding it within him and gradually channeling it through the weapon. As he did this, the two joints on the weapon seemed to take a blue, almost unnoticeable hue. Naruto, who had been trying hard to use as little chakra as he possibly could, allowed the chakra flow into the weapon increase; and as he did, the blue glow around the became more pronounced, before the weapon finally separated into three distinct sections, the two Naruto was not gripping, dropping downwards. The blonde looked at the weapon, now entirely different, with a look of amazement. The three sections were being held together by two chakra threads, thick enough to be clearly seen between each. What's more Naruto could feel an external force molding his chakra from within the weapon, meaning he did not have to continually focus on maintaining the threads themselves. It was automatic.

"Sansetsukon crafted for shinobi are incredibly unique, as they use chakra to manipulate the weapon in a way that one simply couldn't do with a plain variation of the weapon. The smith who makes them, weaves several seals into them, and although I don't know nearly enough about fuinjutsu to be able to explain how the work, I know they essentially allow for two things. Firstly, one set of seals create and maintain the chakra threads for you for as long as you are channelling your chakra through the weapon, meaning you are able to fight without having to focus on keeping the threads functional. Secondly, another set of seals allow you to manipulate the weapon by simply changing the way you channel your chakra through it. I'll give you a quick demonstration."

Kakashi reached for the scrolls he had attached to his flak jacket, and removed one seemingly without looking. Unfurling in with one hand, he focused some chakra to the index finger of the other, and applied it to the seal that was visible on the otherwise blank scroll. A sound, not dissimilar to that of a Kage Bunshin being created, was heard at the moment of impact and smoke created by chakra being dispelled masked the scroll and its immediate surroundings. When it cleared, Kakashi was holding his very own Sansetsukon to match Naruto's. He begun channelling his own chakra through the weapon, causing it to separate, and assume the same position at the blonde's.

"Now I want you to watch carefully, and try to guess how I'm manipulating my chakra, in order to achieve what I am. This is the first step towards learning the shinobi Sansetsukon, and you should practice this alongside the forms and stances you will learn, and only combine the two once you are proficient at both."

Kakashi raised the weapon, extending his hand so it was directly out in front of him, and began focusing on his chakra. Slowly, the three Genin watching saw the two sections of the Sansetsukon that Kakashi wasn't holding begin to rise, until the weapon was perfectly straight, as it was before Kakashi had begun to channel his chakra. Next, the very top section began to spin slowly, seemingly of it's own volition, on it's chakra thread. After a few rotations, it straightened again, and the middle and the top section began to spin together in the same way, both staying straight while they rotated. The slow manner in which they spun indicated that the Jonin was in complete control of their movements. Kakashi stopped the sections spinning, and continued to manipulate the weapon's sections in different ways, demonstrating that each section could be controlled and moved independently through manipulating the chakra threads in the joints.

"Obviously, in most situations, you would maintain a two handed grip on the weapon. However, the ability maneuver the weapon using your chakra adds an extra dimension to your attacks, and of course, if you're clever, gives you the opportunity to use your free hand for other things if needs be. The reason I was performing these movements so slowly was both to give you the chance to try and work out how I was using my chakra in order to create the movements, and also because this is the speed you should begin your practice at. You will find, that you should be able to move the weapon at faster speeds once you nail the concept down; but you're movements will lack control and precision, and in all honesty, you will struggle to perform at very high speeds in a combat situation. Instead, you should practice everything as slowly as possible, and look to gradually build up the speed. If you are not in total control, you are practicing too fast. You should be able to start practicing whilst we move, we still have a mission to get on with after all."

"Sooooo, is this kind of like, shape transformation? I don't really know much about it, as it's only mentioned briefly in everything I've read so far." Naruto asked, his eyes still firmly focused on the weapon he held in his hand.

Kakashi nodded in response. "Shape transformation isn't as advanced as it sounds. It's simply molding chakra into shapes, and specific movements, outside of your body. It does however take a lot of practice to get it right. As far as using it with the Sansetsukon, it is much easier to manage, as the weapon acts as a physical construct for you to manipulate, rather than just trying to manipulate pure chakra outside of your body. Learning to use the Sansetsukon is actually a good base for moving onto pure shape transformation. Rather than try to move the sections of the weapon with your chakra, picture the weapon as being _made out of_ chakra, and 'mold' the weapon as you would your own chakra."

"Right! I think I get it. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said, as he turned his attention to his Sansetsukon, seemingly adding the honorific without realising it.

Kakashi would never tell anyone, but secretly, that single moment had made him feel happier than he could remember being in a long time.

* * *

Two days passed as the group travelled towards the border of Hi no Kuni, and Naruto was already beginning to grasp the basics of manipulating his Sansetsukon. It took him nearly the entire first day to be able to move the weapon at all with his chakra, but once he had worked precisely how he needed to mold his chakra in order to generate the movement, he figured out the other things incredibly quickly. First, learnt to force the weapon to go rigid, as it was before he channelled his chakra through it, only extended by the chakra threads. Next, he had learnt how to move each section individually, by manipulating the individual chakra threads. He did everything as slowly as possible, and he soon realised Kakashi had been right about control of the weapon. If he tried to move a section faster than he was comfortable with, he would lose control over the amount the section would move, where it stopped, and he would even occasionally cause the other to move too. Now, about an hour since the group had crossed into the barren, rocky area on the border between Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni that later led to the deserts of Kaze no Kuni; he was rotating the final section of his weapon on it's chakra thread, incredibly slowly, focusing intently on it's rotation, so intently in fact, he nearly missed Kakashi speak.

"We're here. This is the canyon that Team Kamiko and the injured Suna shinobi are taking cover."

Naruto looked up to take a better look at his surroundings. The stone beneath his feet still hadn't yet given way to the sand, and the area still hadn't given way to the flat, barren expanses of the desert. The terrain was still stone dry, however the landscape around them was craggy and uneven, with various stone outcrops, and rock formations littering their surroundings. Some, in the distance, looked to equal the size of small mountains, seemingly towering above the shinobi, despite their distance away.. Directly in front of him, was the most interesting feature of the entire area. In front of them, stood an enormous stone archway, easily ten foot across, beyond which, the stone ground sunk below and expanded outwards, creating some kind of bizarre canyon, that went on for further than Naruto could see. Rock formations were built up along the tops of the walls of the canyons too, meaning that once inside it would be almost impossible to see anything along the edge once you were inside.

"Kakashi; was this canyon man-made?" It had been Shikamaru that voiced the question, although it had begun to form in the minds of the other two Genin.

"Almost definitely. However, no-one knows how it was done. This canyon, and the people who once lived inside, as far as we can tell, pre-dated ninjutsu by quite a bit."

"People lived in there? Naruto asked, slightly incredulously.

"The canyon actually goes a lot further than we need to go, and we won't be progressing all the way through it to get to Suna either. Which I'm glad for, if I'm honest. The canyon is about 15 feet across once you move down beyond the archway, and then expands again a while later, by quite a lot into some kind of 'room' if you will. It is a circular space, around the same area as a public training ground. This is where team Kamiko are holding out. However if you go beyond that the area narrows again, for about half an hour at walking speed, before beginning to head even deeper undergound, and finally, opening out once again. And there, is what's left of a small village built in to the rock." As Kakashi finished his sentence, the Genin simultaneously drew a breath. An underground village, that predated ninjutsu, seemed both a ridiculous, and impossible notion. Yet here they were, being confronted with one.

"Wait," Naruto said, looking slightly thoughtful. "Was this like a hidden village? Were the people that lived here, like shinobi?"

"That's certainly the most popular theory. As you know, even without ninjutsu, there is a lot included in the shinobi arts, and there is every chance that these people were as deadly as a modern shinobi. Which makes what happened even more unnerving."

"What do mean, 'what happened'?" This time it was Hana that spoke, audibly concerned at the fact a Jonin could be unnerved by something that happened to people so long ago.

"Again we don't know for sure. But what has been found out, was that the entire village was wiped out. Every man, woman and child; killed, and left to rot in that canyon. They knew something was coming for them, too. Doors had been locked and barricaded, there were hastily made fortifications everywhere, too. They knew they were in grave danger, and yet, didn't try and leave. Hundreds of sets of remains have been found, all of the people who used to live here. Women found huddled over their children, the men before them desperately trying to protect their families; warriors on the outside, all ready to give their lives for they're homes, and those that they loved. Every single one. Dead. And we still have no idea what did it. I've had to go down there before, on a mission. And all I know, is that I'll never forget it, and I sure as hell don't want to go back there. But, like i said, we won't be going that far down into the canyon."

All three genin shared a look. Before, one or two of them might of had ideas of exploring the abandoned village. Somehow, the idea that any of them still harbored those plans, seemed incredibly unlikely.

* * *

A figure, hidden amongst one of the rock formations that overlooked the inside of the canyon swore violently, anger tainting his voice, the need for quiet transforming his rant into a low hiss.

"Hatake Kakashi! Hatake fucking Kakashi! What the fuck are we gonna do now? Well? 'Wait for the next fucking team'! What a brilliant idea! Now we're screwed! How are we gonna get it now?" The man paused in his rant, breathing heavily as he finished venting his rage.

"Will you relax?" A second man spoke, from his position atop the formation, sitting casually and seemingly looking over the entire landscape. "We have our trump card still; and in case you didn't notice, that bastard Hatake was with a couple of Genin. He can't fight the both of us, and defend them at the same time. We'll kill the runts, get what we came for, and then exact some much deserved revenge on that arrogant, masked bastard."

"I still think you're underestimating him. He killed so many of us. He's fucking dangerous, man."

"You have the seals, right?" The second man barked out, eliciting a sharp grunt in affirmation from the fist. "Well, wait until Hatake moves past and the other Konoha ninja leave, and lay down every last one. They're trapped, and then, they'll be outnumbered. Like I said, Hatake can't protect the brats and fight us."

"Fine. Let's do this. On one condition though." The first figure stating, drawing the direct gaze of his partner.

"I get to rip that bastards eyes out myself."

* * *

They had only been moving for a few minutes and Naruto was already starting to feel nervous. Except, it wasn't the thought of the ghost-village they were getting ever closer to that was worrying him, it was where he was now. The path, as Kakashi promised, had gotten wider as they went deeper; however, about minute down naruto had spotted something in the wall up ahead, on the left hand side. It was a stone statue, carved out of the wall. It stood six feet tall, and held a sword in front of it's own chest, the flat of the blade nearly resting against the body of the figure. However, the outstanding feature of the statue, was not it's weapon, but it's face.

Or rather, lack of face.

No eyes, no mouth, and no nose. Just smoothly carved stone, where the facial features should have been.

And then, Shikamaru saw the others. The entire path ahead, was lined on both sides by the faceless stone warriors, all guarding the path towards the village hidden ahead of them.

They had no eyes, yet for the entire time they walked down that path, the blonde could of sworn that he was being watched.

However, as uncomfortable as it may have been for the Genin, the walk to their destination was a fairly short one; and soon, the large opening into the next section of the canyon was visible, and the team of Konoha shinobi they had been sent to meet was visible ahead of them.

"Kakashi, you finally made it! Thank God for that, I'd kill for a shower about now!" The first of the Konoha ninja exclaimed as Kakashi and his squad approached there position. She was definitely an experienced shinobi. She held her flak jacket, indicating her rank was above genin, in her right hand seemingly believing it was too hot to wear it. She was dressed incredibly plainly, wearing the standard shinobi attire of Konoha, and her headband being used to keep her shoulder length blonde hair out of her face. It was her poise, like many of the best shinobi, that set her apart from her Chunin comrades. Every movement she made, perfectly controlled, despite her near-exhausted state.

"Kamiko, you look terrible. How long have you been out of the village?"

"We'd been escorting a pair of rich businessmen from Suna as they travelled to make a high profile business deal in Kumo. They did what they had to do no issues, but on the way back we were attacked by a couple of shinobi. Some hotshot missing nin who had just become a Jonin, with a bunch of his little friends decided they needed the money these two have. They were pretty good, too. Gave us a good fight. Once we had dealt with them, and got moving back towards Suna again; we came across our new friend over there." Kamiko indicated to the Suna shinobi, resting up against a rock, a short while away from the group. "He was unconscious when we found him, and he's banged up pretty bad. Nothing fatal as far as I can see, but he can't walk, has chakra exhaustion and I'm pretty sure he has a broken arm, but I ain't a medic, so you'd be better off taking a look at him yourselves."

Kakashi looked thoughtful before turning to Hana. "Hana, why don't you go and see if you can diagnose him, and see how quickly you can get him on his feet without compromising his recovery." The Inuzuka nodded before heading over to the injured shinobi and getting to work. " He turned back to Kamiko. "What can you tell me about him?" Kakashi asked, referring to the injured shinobi.

"Well, he's spent a lot of time asleep since he regained consciousness, and we've been here for three days now, so we haven't gotten that much from him. We know he was on some kind of retrieval mission, to get hold of some kind of ancient weapon that belonged to Sunagakure and had been lost in battle, because the first thing he did when he became conscious again was check that he still had the weapon in his bag, which he does. We also got out of him that he wasn't alone. His two team-mates were Chunin, and both were killed in the early moments of the fight..." She trailed off, glancing towards Naruto and Shikamaru. "Listen, Kakashi, we can stay if you want. When we asked for assistance, we still didn't know that there was a chance we'd be up against enemy Shinobi, I didn't think Hokage-sama would send Genin to here of all places."

Ideally Kakashi would have liked to take her up on the offer. He really didn't want to be leading Genin into such a dangerous situation. But a glance at Kamiko and her team dispelled those thoughts quickly. She was moving gingerly, and he could tell she hadn't managed to rest enough to replenish her chakra. The rest of her team was just as ragged. They had been out for weeks now, with little to no rest.

"We both know what would happen if you were attacked at the moment Kamiko, I appreciate the offer, but we'll manage. Besides, we have a little help to call upon if things get a little desperate. Get home, Kamiko. rest. you've earned it, I'd say."

"Bah, Kakashi, you noble bastard. We'll head out straight away then, if you don't mind. I'd like to get into Hi no Kuni as soon as possible, I've had enough of trying to sleep on stone. See you back in Konoha." And with that, the four Konoha shinobi left the way Kakashi and his team had came in. The silver haired Jonin turned to the remainder of his team.

"Well what do you two say we go and see how Hana is getting on, and then we'll decide what our next move is." The two Genin nodded, and followed Kakashi towards the injured Suna shinobi.

Suddenly, Kakashi paused mid stride.

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking curiously at the Jonin.

"That Suna ninja is one of their most respected Jonin, he's listed in the bingo book as being incredibly dangerous. I only just recognised him." Kakashi paused as he took another look at the shinobi, just to be sure.

"His name, is Baki"

* * *

**Bluurgh. I'm Ill. I think I've worked out the kinks in my plan for this mission, now. there were lots of different ways I could have taken it, but I'm decided now. Slightly longer chapter this time, too. Anyway thank you for all the reviews for my last chapter, guys and gals. I really appreciate them. A quick message to spiritwolf, and anyone else interested: Pairings are undecided atm, there may not even be any. I'll base that kind of thing around gut feeling. If something seems right to me I'll go for it.**

**Sinewyk: Thanks for the review mate. As for Naruto occasionally being dumb, and at other times smarter, this is the way I see it. You don't suddenly become incredibly intelligent over night. You can learn lots of stuff very quickly, but as far as actual application and understanding of what you've learnt, that takes lot longer. He is know a lot more knowledgeable know, less easily confused and such, but he still has to learn to 'connect the dots' if you will. It will come with time, but for now, he'll still make some mistakes, and sometimes not be able to work things out as easily as ho should, and might take a little longer to really grasp some stuff. With the weapon, you can see the two metal joints, but until you channel chakra, there is no visible separation. He also didn't realise it was a Sansetsukon until Yuugao told him as he was leaving. As for what he did with team 10, it was because he was so worried of dropping his 'mask' around people he didn't implicitly trust, and because Team 10 knew him before he even began to drop it in the first place. He had to be convinced to be more open with them, by jiraiya. Hope that cleared up my way of thinking a little, if I wasn't so clear in the writing.**

**Dark Neko 4000: Well...Why not read on, and find out? :D**

**Real proper action and such next chapter, I promise. What the fuck is Baki doing here? Who the fuck is that dickhead who keeps swearing all the time? What about that other dickhead? Read the next one and find out you...urm...bastards!**


	16. A C Rank Mission: Enemies Revealed

_Chapter 16_

"Well, he's a lot better off than I thought he would be." Hana began, speaking to Kakashi, even as she performed her diagnosis jutsu. "He's just resting at the moment, and as far as I can see, there's no lingering damage to his head, but it would be wise if he was given a more thorough look-over in Suna. He is suffering from minor chakra exhaustion, but I'll be able to help him with that fairly easily, at least enough to get him on the move again. As far as our actual mission goes, our most pressing concern is his broken bones." Hana stopped her jutsu, the green chakra that had been surrounding her hands as she worked fading away, and turned her attention to Kakashi. "His arm is broken quite severely, and it will take some time to heal enough to move him, even with my medical ninjutsu. His leg, is not so bad, and given there a no complications I can have him up and moving, with help, within a few hours. However as a medic, I'd have to recommend that we keep him still, at least for another few hours, so I can try and cut down on the risk of further damage when we do try to move him. Ideally, I'd need three or four hours hours. But if we absolutely need to, we can be going in two, possibly less if someone helps him move."

Kakashi pondered over what the teams appointed medic had said. In theory, they should stay for as long as needed, in order to make sure Baki got patched up properly before they got moving. But Kakashi had a bad feeling about this mission. The Suna Jonin had gotten a pretty banged up by whoever it was that attacked him, and had managed to take out the Jonin's two team-mates, which meant that they were pretty good. Then there was the matter of Baki's 'cargo', which was most likely the enemies' target, but if that was the case, why did they retreat? Kakashi doubted that Baki had managed to kill all three of them, especially given how much he had been injured, and even if he had, Baki couldn't have moved that far before Kamiko and her squad had found him, meaning there should have been bodies.

All of which led Kakashi to the conclusion that the enemy shinobi would be back. And now it was just him and three Genin that stood between them and their prize. Hana was far more experienced than her rank let on, as she had forsaken the Chunin exams several times in order to train as a combat medic; and as a result she had also realised Kakashi's concerns even whilst performing the diagnosis jutsu, which is likely the only reason she brought up how quickly she could get Baki on his feet.

"We have a few hours, get him ready to move. With any luck we can be out of here and well on our way to Suna before trouble arrives."

"Right. I'll get to work on his leg straight away. Unless you want to speak with him, I won't bother to wake him up. I can work faster whilst he's asleep." Kakashi could see how reluctant the medic in her was to try to get Baki moving so soon, yet at the same time, the shinobi part of her understanding the need to get moving.

"Let him rest for a while, although I will need to speak with him, soon, to see what information he can give us about what we're up against."

"Understood. I'll work as fast as I can, and let you know if he wakes up." Hana hovered her hands over Baki's leg, green chakra already oozing from her hands, even as she spoke to the Jonin.

Kakashi turned to Naruto and Shikamaru, who had been listening intently to the conversation, and were now aware, to some extent, of the gravity of their situation. "I need you two alert, and ready for anything. Naruto, summon a pair of Kage Bunshin, have them patrol the area that we came from. Shikamaru, and the original Naruto; whilst I want you to stay alert, prepare for an ambush. Figure out possible lines of attack, traps, work out counters, do as much as you can. I'll keep watch, and maybe try and input some ideas if you need them."

He watched as the pair got to work. Two Bunshin appeared next to the blonde, without him having even moved, and immediately got to work; whilst Shikamaru sat down cross-legged, an intense look of concentration on his face, his eyes occasionally darting around, observing their surroundings. It was impressive, to say the least. Many fresh Genin would have crumbled from the pressure in a similar situation, but these two, as well as Hana, didn't even appear phased.

This could of course meant complacency on the part of the rookie ninja, however Kakashi somewhat doubted that. Hana already had a years worth of experience out in the field, and that was only so low because missions had taken a back-seat to her medical training. Shikamaru seemed to be as cool and composed under pressure as his father was, and Kakashi knew the Nara wouldn't underestimate the gravity of the situation. Naruto would have concerned him if they were in this position a few months ago, but even a cursory glance at the blonde assuaged most of Kakashi's worry. It was clear how much the Genin had grown since the night he found out about his father, and his time with Yuugao and Jiraiya had pushed him farther forward than anyone, possibly even the Sandaime himself, could have anticipated.

Despite that however, Kakashi doubted that the Genin that made up his squad would be a match for the enemy that had been strong enough to severely wound Baki, and capture or kill the rest of his squad. His lone eye turned it's gaze to the sheer rock walls that surrounded the Konoha ninja and carefully watched the top of the canyon for any signs of movement.

Somewhere up there, he supposed, lurked an enemy that, if they were unlucky enough, he would have to fight in order to give the Genin he had with him any hope of escaping. He didn't doubt the young shinobi that accompanied him were talented, but anybody capable of bringing down someone of Baki's calibre would be, quite simply, out of their league.

* * *

Two identical figures cautiously made their way through the canyon back towards where they had entered it in the first place, fully alert, searching for any trace of an enemy. Although they were aware that, as Kage Bunshin, it wasn't a particularly large issue if they were 'killed'; it was vital that if they were to be defeated, they obtained at least a snippet of information about the enemy for the original to use. However this was getting ever harder as the minutes went by. Night was falling, and with it, the scant light the sun provided the inside of the canyon was disappearing, making it almost impossible to see more than a few metres in any direction.

One of the Bunshin paused momentarily, and strained it's senses. He could have sworn he heard a noise from the dense walls of the canyon, almost like a faint scratching – similar to the sound a snake made as it moved across solid ground. That was when he spotted it. Almost as if the canyon's side was a liquid, the surface of the rock began to displace before the Bunshin's eyes, mesmerised by the sight before him, the Bunshin lost focus, and was instantly dispelled as an arm wielding a kunai shot from the rock itself, slashing the blade across the Naruto replica's face. The second Bunshin immediately took a step back from the wall that the threat had emerged from and watched fascinated as the hand withdrew back into the canyon wall.

The remaining Bunshin's instincts screamed at him to move as he felt the air around begin to heat, and he nearly dived to the side too late, only managing to dodge the fire jutsu that had been launched at him by a fraction. The Bunshin got shakily to his feet, only to feel a hand clasp roughly across his mouth and a sharp pain to explode in his chest.

"And I was so looking forward to watching you fucking burn. Even if you are just a Kage Bunshin."

With that, the assailant released his grip on the Bunshin and removed his blade from it's chest; leaving it to begin to fall, before dispelling in a puff of smoke. The figure glanced angrily towards the canyon wall.

"What the fuck was that? There you were lecturing me not to give away any techniques, and you go ahead and use your best one! What about you're chakra? We're fighting Hatake Kakashi. Tonight!"

Slowly another figure emerged from the canyon wall, stepping away from the solid rock as though it were some kind of portal to another dimension.

"Calm down. I didn't show it for long enough for any of them to be able to work out exactly what it was. Besides, did you get a look at his face. We have another of our targets. Activate the seals. We move now."

The first man just grinned widely, and followed the other's instruction, any disagreement forgotten.

Tonight, Hatake Kakashi and the son of the Yondaime Hokage would die by _his_ hand.

* * *

Naruto inhaled sharply, as the memories of his Bunshin rushed into his head, one after the other.

"My Kage Bunshin have been killed!" The blonde exclaimed, drawing the attention of his entire team.

"Tell me exactly what happened Naruto." Kakashi ordered, his demeanour almost instantly changing to that of a Jonin commander.

"Well, I can;t really explain what happened to the first one. And hand came out of the canyon wall and attacked, except it wasn't really like the _Doton: Shinji Zanshu. _It was almost as if the rock was made from water, and the hand just kind of emerged from it, without damaging the wall at all."

Kakashi couldn't help but be intrigued as to the ability Naruto described. He had heard of a technique like it, but little was known of it's exact details outside of it's village of origin, Iwagakure. He had checked out the list of recent missing nin from Iwa prior to leaving for this mission too, in order to try and prepare for possible attempts on Naruto's life while they were gone.

"I think the second Bunshin was destroyed by someone else, although it was pretty hard to tell." Naruto continued, focusing on the memories he had inherited. "It managed to dodge some kind of Katon jutsu, but the enemy managed to kill it from behind, with some kind of blade, I think."

"That's good Naruto. Any information on the enemy we can get improves our chances massively, although ideally we would want a bit more, so we could try and identify the enemy. Unfortunately, the fact that they attacked your Bunshin, indicates they intend strike sooner rather than later." Kakashi sighed before turning towards Hana, who was still working on Baki's injuries. "Hana, I'm going to need Baki good to go as soon as possible. How long do you need to get him ready to move?"

Hana paused in her work, frustration that she would have to move her patient sooner than was good for his health evident on her face.

"I need an hour at best. I need to ensure his bones aren't going to break again when we move him, otherwise he could be facing permanent damage."

"That will have to do, then. I don't think we're going to be able to stay any longer than that. Unfortunately, you are going to have to move him away from the wall. Given the enemies' ability, I don;t think it would be safe to keep him up against it. Naruto, Shikamaru help her, and then get into a defensive formation around Hana. I need you to stay absolutely focused okay?"

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" Came the call from all three of the Genin as they got to work, the two male shinobi listening intently to Hana's instruction on how to move Baki with as little risk as possible, and then proceeding to carefully move the ninja away from the stone wall he had been resting against, and laid him down a few metres away from the wall, resting his head upon the dull green flak jacket that Hana had removed previously in order to diagnose the Suna shinobi.

Naruto created a Kage Bunshin, allowing himself and Shikamaru to form a basic triangular formation around the Genin medic and her patient, and began to focus on his senses, listening for the slight scratching sounds his Bunshin had heard before it had been destroyed, when he had a thought.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't suppose you've heard of any techniques that let you move through rock like the one my Bunshin saw, do you?" Naruto enquired, being careful not to lose focus on his surroundings as he spoke the the Jonin.

"I do know of one clan from Iwagakure, that had a similar technique as their Kekkai Genkai, but the last of that clan were wiped out during the last Shinobi War" The experienced shinobi's senses flared as he felt a surge of chakra ahead of him in the clearing that his team had occupied. His was moving almost before he had time to process what he had felt as the tell-tale chakra surge of a '_Shunshin no jutsu'_, a technique that allowed shinobi to move at almost untraceable speeds over short distances. His kunai was already to hand as a single figure materialised before him, ready to land a fatal strike before his enemy could recover from the momentary daze that usually accompanied such techniques.

_'But why would he just Shunshin straight into the clearing. It's common knowledge that Shunshin's movements can, to an extent, be traced easily...'_

Kakashi's lone eye widened mid-charge as he realised his error, and without stopping his charge, he formed the signs for the '_Kawarimi no jutsu'. _At almost that exact moment, single hand armed with a kunai shot from the ground below the Konoha ninja, looking to cause serious damage to Kakashi's legs. Anticipating the attack, the cycloptic Jonin activated his jutsu, the attack inches away from striking him, and the enemy shinobi found himself striking at a large rock that had initially been next to the trio of Genin.

"Hatake Kakashi." The enemy shinobi who had launched the attack from underground began, his face struggling to conceal his apparent anger at the Jonin. "I expected a little more than a basic jutsu like Kawarimi from the man who has copied over one thousand jutsu."

"What's the point in wasting chakra, if all I need to beat the likes of you is the basics anyway?" Kakashi retorted, appearing far more nonchalant than he actually felt, attempting to see if he could get a rise out of his opponents.

"I've had enough of fucking sitting here and looking at you Hatake! I'm gonna tear out that bastard eye and ram it down your damn throat!" The ninja who had used Shunshin to move into the clearing, took a step forward ready to charge at the Konoha nin.

"Hitoshi! Take another step and you're a dead man." The other shinobi hissed the warning to his comrade, his eyes never leaving Kakashi as he spoke. The man identified as Hitoshi narrowed his eyes dangerously, and ground his teeth in anger, but held his position all the same. "Listen, once _that_ jutsu is ready, we can finish Hatake for good. But it can only happen once the jutsu is ready, and even then, we have to work together, otherwise we'll end up like the others. We've waited too long for this to screw it up now!"

The mans words seemed to calm Hitoshi down, if only a little. However, the respite had allowed Kakashi time to analyse the pair in front of him a little closer, and attempt to identify the enemy before him. Suddenly, the name brought a memory to the forefront of Kakashi's mind, a memory that the veteran of the Third Shinobi War would rather forget.

"Isao Hitoshi and Masanori Eiji. Former Genin of Iwagakure..." Kakashi paused; unsure of how to proceed, this being a topic he had fully intended to never have to breach, if he could at all help it. Unfortunately, he doubted he had much say in the matter at this point in time, and was pretty sure that he wanted to be the first one to answer the question the Genin team he commanded would inevitably have. "...And survivors of the 'Raiden Massacre'."

The Jonin looked directly into the eyes of his enemies, and saw the venomous glares of two people out for revenge, no matter the cost. Another two lives warped and destroyed by war, another two lives warped and destroyed by his own two hands.

"I've never heard of the 'Raiden Massacre' before, how the hell does it involve you, Kakashi-sensei?" Predictably, it was Naruto that spoke up first, Hana still trying to get Baki ready to move in case Kakashi couldn't put the two Iwa shinobi down alone, and Shikamaru most likely having heard enough to work out the link between the event Kakashi spoke of, and the Jonin himself.

"You wouldn't of heard about, because your bastard of a Yondaime Hokage filed it away as a black listed mission before the end of the Third Shinobi War, and made it an A-rank village secret. I'm willing to bet there are only two or three people left Konoha who even know the event even happened." It was Hitoshi that answered the question, his words carrying an acidic edge to them, one that made Kakashi mentally grimace.

"That's probable one of the worst things in my opinion." This time it was Eiji who spoke, his words lacking the unbridled rage that his partner's did; instead, carrying a bitter sting to them, reminding Kakashi somewhat of himself after the end of the war. "The fact that the day when 27 Iwagakure Genin, none of them older than 13 years of age were slaughtered by a Konoha Jonin, when they posed no legitimate threat to Konoha, so close to the end of the war; a day that is still anually mourned in Iwa, is a criminal offense to even mention in Konoha, all so your village can maintain it's _reputation."_

The three Genin, Naruto in particular, looked shellshocked by the claims of the former Iwa shinobi. Of course none of them had experienced shinobi warfare, nor had they felt the tempestuous fury caused by the loss of comrades, friends, and even lovers. Of course, none of them would fully understand. God willing, none of them would ever have to, although given that the existence of shinobi revolved around the art of killing, Kakashi somewhat doubted that as a possibility.

"And the Konoha nija that committed the massacre? None other than the famous _Hatake Kakashi._" Eiji enunciated Kakashi's name with the same viciousness that Hitoshi had been speaking with moments earlier, unable to prevent the vitriol from creeping into his voice, momentarily losing the emotional control that most ninja strive to keep.

Kakashi found himself wincing once more at the tone of the Iwa shinobi's voice. He supposed that he could of tried to stop the man from revealing that the perpetrator of the massacre was himself, and avoided tarnishing how the Genin under his command saw him; however, it was likely that them finding out about it was inevitable now that the details of the mission were out in the open. Either way, he was pretty sure their views of him would have been coloured by the way the enemy ninja spoke of him.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, that's not true, is it?"

Again it was Naruto who was first to make himself known, his voice shakily betraying his shock at what he had heard. Out of the all the Genin he had seen that had graduated this year, Kakashi was certain Naruto was the most naive. It was hardly surprising that his sensei's son was so shocked. All Kakashi could do was explain himself the best he could, and hope that Naruto would eventually come to understand.

"I'm afraid so." Kakashi replied steadily, carefully keeping his emotion out of his voice. "It was during a war that had already been going on for such a long time, and so many had died. I-" Kakashi stopped dead, midway through his sentance.

Several eerily silent seconds went by, until Kakashi managed to lock onto what had distracted him. A deep rumbling sound coming from the top of the canyon, that had been so quiet that it was nigh on inaudible, was slowly increasing in volume, almost as if it was coming close and closer to the edges of the canyon. A few more seconds passed and the Jonin noticed that all three of the Genin had noticed the sound too. Kakashi could feel the vibrations in the ground now, growing ever stronger as the seconds passed.

"Kakashi-sensei, look at the top of the canyon. What the hell is that?" It was Shikamaru who spotted the source of the noise first, as Kakashi hadn't dared to take his eyes off of the pair of shinobi in front of him. Still keeping his senses sharp for movement from the enemies to his front, the Jonin turned his head just enough to get a good look at what was causing the growing vibrations and sounds, that were now loud enough to seemingly shake the entire canyon, causing the looser rocks on the canyon walls to loosen and fall.

And as Kakashi's eyes fell upon the object of Shikamaru's question, he felt his hand instinctively reach for his Hitai-ate that was covering his left eye, and one his greatest assets as a shinobi, and lifted it, revealing his pupil to be a deep red, with three tomoe within the iris.

The rumbling had stopped. And standing faceless, silhouetted against a skyline lit up by the moon light, were the stone figures the group had passed on their way through the canyon; their swords now aimed threateningly towards the group of Genin and the Jonin they stood protectively around.

The statues were leaner than they were before, Kakashi noted, probably adapted by whatever justu the pair of Iwa shinobi had used in order to animate them in order to allow for faster movement. Of course, it was impossible to be able to tell exactly how mobile these things were just by their size, but it was foolish to rule out the idea that they may well be as mobile as an actual person, and it wasn't totally uncommon to see objects animated in such a way by some kind of jutsu. However, how shinobi such as these were able to come by such techniques, given that jutsu such as these tended to be incredibly complex, as well as chakra intensive. The men in front of him were definitely Jonin, judging by their chakra reserves, but one would have to have reached a level Kakashi was not sure even he himself had reached in order to use such a technique to the scale being displayed.

Which, he deduced in the split second he had been pondering this, indicated that they were working for a considerable more powerful enemy. The possible consequences of that particular realisation would have to wait, however, as Kakashi had more pressing concerns. The statues were moving again, one by one crouching, bending at the knees. He was on the move in the same moment that he realised what they were about to do, determined to get back closer to his team, and into a better defensive position.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Distracted by the arrival of the stone figures, he hadn't noticed Eiji slip back into the rocky ground. Kakashi ground to a halt, only having made it a few metres back, as the missing-nin emerged from the ground in front of him.

"Come now, Hatake. You're fight is with us. There's no getting past me, I can move faster in the earth than even that vile eye of yours can follow."

Kakashi glared at the man standing between him and the comrades it was his job to protect.

"No getting past you, hm?" Kakashi asked, in the nonchalant tone he had perfected over the years. "In that case, looks like I'll have to go through you then." Kakashi retorted, his glare not receding as he bought a kunai to bare.

"And on another day, you might well achieve that goal, Hatake." The man began, the smirk on his face becoming larger at Kakashi's response. "But, today the question is not whether you can get past me. It's 'can you make it past me before those Genin standing behind me have been ground into dust?"

And, as Eiji finished, the very first statue impacted with the ground behind him, after jumping from the very top of the canyon, splintering the earth beneath it. The statue turned to the group of Genin, even as the others followed, shaking the entire canyon as they hit the ground and causing a cloud of dust to almost totally covering their considerable presence, and once again raised it's stone sword towards the shell-shocked Genin.

Naruto was the first of Genin to recover, and had instinctively reached for his weapon, maneuvering himself so that he was between the statues and Hana and Baki, whilst waiting for the dust to clear.

He had never expected his very first mission to turn out like this, especially as he had already done a fair amount of reading into how missions were ranked so that he would have some idea of what to expect when he started taking missions outside the village. But now, he found himself, a totally inexperienced Genin in the midst of what was a certain A-rank. He knew that, given what himself and Shikamaru were about to face, at least until Kakashi-sensei could reach them, there was an incredibly high risk of getting seriously injured, or worse.

Yet, he couldn't find a trace of fear within himself. All worries were replaced, partly, by a combination of surging adrenaline, and the will to survive. But most importantly, he was filled with the realisation that, given his team-mates' abilities, the chances of them surviving, at least until the Jonin made it past the missing-nin, relied totally on him.

He absolutely couldn't fail. And that didn't scare him. He wouldn't allow his team-mates to die. He wouldn't allow the people he now considered friends to be hurt, even if it cost him his life. That was a promise.

And no matter how much he had matured since the days he would proclaim his promise to be Hokage from the rooftops of the village, Uzumaki Naruto never, ever broke a promise.

* * *

**Right, well, that seems a good enough place to end that chapter. See? I told you I wasn't dead.**

**Looking today, it's been almost a year since I updated. I honestly had no idea it had been that long. Time has been flying. Since I updated, I've moved out of home, got a job, and started studying at Uni, and it honestly only feels like I've been away for a few weeks. **

**I won't apologise again. You all know what life can be like, and if you don't understand what I mean, you will. I'll be trying a hell of a lot more than I have been to keep on top of writing, as I've got plenty of ideas for this fic, and a few new ideas that I'll see about putting into action before long. It's just about finding the time in the day.**

**What I will apologise for however, is the likely drop in the standard of writing. I'm out of practice. Hopefully that will be rectified ASAP.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and all the reviews I've had since the last chapter, I really appreciate the kind words as well as the advice and corrections. Every little helps. I'll answer some of the below.**

_**Ethorin**_: That's really good to know. I only really spent an hour or two researching before using it, so I don't really have an excuse for getting it wrong, I should have done much more. Thank you for letting me know.

_**kyuubinovelli**_: I haven't been back and read the first chapter, but I believe I intended it so that he was killed in the blast of chakra as the Kyuubi was released. I fucked up, and didn't make it clear enough.

**As for all the confusion about Baki: The man is a Jonin, and one of the top shinobi of the sand. He is the sand sibs sensei, but if Kakashi is occasionally sent out on missions without Team 7, why wouldn't the same be true for other Jonin sensei's. It doesn't make sense for a village to not use their best assets when required.**


	17. A C Rank Mission: Conclusion

_Chapter 17_

"Naruto. Look at their legs."

The words were short. To the point. But they were enough to penetrate the whirlwind of thoughts that was Naruto's mind as he simultaneously tried to keep his own cool in the face of quite frankly ridiculous enemy he and Shikamaru now faced, and figure out exactly _how_ he intended to save his comrades. In the shinobi world, words were cheap. Meaningless. Telling himself he wouldn't let his comrades die was a different matter to actually preventing it from happening. Not that he ever thought he couldn't of course, he would rather die than break the promise he had made, partially to himself, and partially to his current - and future - friends.

As it was, the words muttered under Shikamaru's breath were all that it took to focus Naruto's mind on the task ahead, and calm him down too. Trust the Nara to be ice cool under pressure.

He examined the legs of the stone statues closer. They were cracked, crumbling under the strain of having jumped. Apparently, whatever jutsu that had brought them to life was unable to bypass the irrefutable fact that these were in fact, made out of rigid and brittle stone. Sandstone to be exact, of a peculiar reddish hue, definitely different to the sandstone of the canyon walls, which Naruto hadn't noticed beforehand. Regardless, Shikamaru was right to draw attention to their legs. The were weakened by the stress of their jump, and appeared to weaken even further with every movement.

Filled with vigor at this development, even as the foremost of the statues took a step forward and raised it's weapon menacingly, Naruto grinned and step forward to meet it.

"Shikamaru, you run interference whilst I deal with the heavy hitting, until we win or you come up with a better plan, okay?"

The Nara grunted in approval, not taking his eyes off of the enemy. 'Interference' as Naruto had put it was definitely his speciality, and what he would have suggested had he been with Choji. He had been hesitant to nominate Naruto in that role knowing as little as he did about his actual techniques or abilities, as he was no where near naive enough to believe that Naruto hadn't seriously improved since their days in the Academy. The way he spoke, and genuinely understood things he never would have before told Shikamaru all he needed to know.

If Naruto said he could play the role of 'heavy hitter' Shikamaru would take his word for it. Of course, the dozen or so Naruto's that had sprung into life around them did wonders for his confidence in the blonde.

Naruto himself was not quite as happy with his use of the Kage Bunshin as his comrade was. He had made a decision not to use them 'en masse'. It didn't fit in with his current philosophy on how they should be used. The situation however, necessitated differently, as Naruto needed to find a way to even up the playing fields. Although, as the first of the statues came within striking distance of him, he didn't feel that they were in anyway even, regardless of whether he's actually admit it or not.

"Well here goes nothing!" And with that the blonde leapt back, the stone behemoth striking the ground where he had just stood with it's weapon, and began racing through now-familiar hand-seals.

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!" The blonde's words came in tandem with the closest two Bunshin, each firing a buzzing sphere of air towards the statue that had struck. Each made contact with the statues left leg, the one Naruto had judged to have been the most weakened of the two; the wind infused chakra spinning and grinding against the stone, boring into it and splintering it at the thigh, causing the statue to tumble onto it's left side.

Almost immediately, a separate pair of leapt above the fallen statue, struggling to stand without it's left leg, the animated rock apparently not having realised it's leg had been sheared at the thigh.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" This time Naruto would admit his technique wasn't perfect, it was the most recent one he had managed to learn, and by far the most difficult of the two Fuuton jutsu he knew. Regardless, the technique did it's job. The blonde had reduced the overall area of the wind infused chakra he expelled, but as a result had increased the density and ferocity of the attack; the two Bunshin's jutsu tearing into the statues torso, grinding it down, almost entirely into granules of sand.

Just as the two Bunshin landed, a pair of the stone statues upon them, bringing their fearsome swords to bear upon the copies of the blonde. One of the Bunshin didn't react as quickly as required and was destroyed by the solid stone sword aimed a it's skull. The second was more successful, bringing it's sansetsukon above his head, just barely having the strength to use a horizontal block to defend against the attack.

Several of Naruto's Bunshin dashed towards the fray, releasing a volley of 'Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu', pushing back the pair of statues with several crushing blows to the torso, knocking them back into the ground.

The feeling of accomplishment at having disabled the trio of statues, was however, short lived.

An alien, ghoulish green haze surrounded the area where the remains of the first statue lay; and Naruto couldn't help stare in wonder as at first, disintegrated sandstone moved towards a central point grain by grain. Within seconds, the movement of sand was so significant it was almost as if the ground itself was shifting and transforming, possessed by some maniacal demon of infinite power

Then, a peculiar symbol made itself clear on one of the larger pieces of rubble. A strange, blood red marking on the stone, glowing as though imbued with the chakra of the Kyuubi itself. And it was towards this piece of rubble that the sand gravitated, the stone growing and mutating, until the statue itself had been reborn anew, as if not a thing had happened. It stood, towering above the blonde, who had frozen stock still, flabbergasted at the turn of events; not even noticing that the same thing had happened to the two other statues he had 'destroyed'.

Transfixed and paralysed by the combination of horror and shock at what he had just seen, Naruto simply stood whilst the re-made statue once again raised it's sword preparing to strike the blonde down in a single clean blow, crushing him under stone.

* * *

Ducking and weaving through another series of attacks from the onslaught of Hitoshi, who's strikes and lunges never seemed to let up or give way, Kakashi grimaced as he saw the statues Naruto had just destroyed rebuilding themselves. Admittedly, it was a very impressive jutsu, and even though Kakashi had his sharingan eye active, he couldn't figure out how it worked, even though he suspected fuuinjutsu. What had made him grimace however, was the fact that it was essentially two totally green Genin facing the jutsu. Talented, they may be, but almost every shinobi with experience knew that it was the key to staying alive in a decidedly deadly profession.

Blocking a lunge at his throat from the kunai wielding missing nin with his own kunai, he levelled a kick at the man's ribcage, landing his blow with a sickening crunch, sending Hitoshi skidding away from him on his back. Using the leg still on the floor to leap, Kakashi jumped backwards, avoiding the slash of a kunai from the earth aimed at his legs. Not even a moment later, the protruding arm had been engulfed in flames from a Katon jutsu from the Sharingan wielding jutsu.

Shooting a glance at the recovering Hitoshi, Kakashi attempted to seize the initiative as the situation his Genin were in took a turn for worse, with Naruto directly in the firing line. Pumping chakra into his legs he made to sprint to the aid of the blonde.

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!"

The Jonin skidded to a halt, leaping back from the wall defensive wall that erupted in front, giving him time to use his kunai to help deflect and dodge the hail of stone bullets that had erupted from it.

"Now now Hatake."Eiji spoke, smirk evident on his face as he stepped out of the stone wall he had created. "I told you before. Your fight is with us"

Kakashi glared holes into the man, although it was painfully apparent to the Konaha shinobi that he was more frustrated with himself than anything else. He wasn't as fast as he used to be, his lax attitude to his own training had seen to that in the years since he had left ANBU. And now, his comrades, a trio of Genin no less, were in danger because he was struggling with a pair of opponents that, should his own bingo book entry be believed, should be causing him no where near as much trouble.

* * *

"Naruto, you need to move, now!"

It had taken Shikamaru's strained cries to shake Naruto from his stupor. It took him less than half a second after that for him to realise he had frozen. Just shut his eyes and accepted death. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled back as Shikamaru's Kagemane no jutsu failed, allowing the statue's sword to slam into the ground where the blonde had been standing.

"Thanks Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted out, even as a pair of statues set themselves upon him, forcing him to leap over a horizontal slash directly into the chest of the offending statue. Planting his feet against it's stone torso, he bent his knees and flipped backwards, allowing the sword of the second statue to crash directly into the first, cleaving it in two.

Had he not been quite so shaken up, he would have remarked on how bad ass that probably looked as he landed on the ground almost perfectly. In truth, the statues movements were slow, and cumbersome, allowing for Naruto to take advantage with the increased mobility Yuugao's and more recently, Jiraiya's taijutsu training had afforded him. Even as the statue that had just been destroyed pulled it's body back together, Naruto created a trio of Kage Bunshin to cover Shikamaru who himself was now fighting a pair of the statues, and another two to aid in a plan that had just wormed it's way into his head.

"Shikamaru, do you have an explosive tag?" Naruto cried out, as the two statues re-converged on him. Shikamaru replied with a grunt in the affirmative as he once again extended his Kagemane, preventing the destruction of a Kage Bunshin. "Leave those statues to the Bunshin and get a bit closer, I have a plan."

Deactivating his Kagemane as one of the Bunshin's Fuuton jutsu's slammed into the head of the statue, shattering the faceless appendage into thousands of pieces, he moved closer to Naruto, into a position from which he could support the blonde in whatever plan he had come up with. Suddenly, another half a dozen Kage Bunshin popped in place, as the rest of the stone statues began to move forward, attempting to surround the pair of Genin. Already, the Nara was beginning to think moving closer to the blonde had been a poor tactical decision.

"I think these are made with fuuinjutsu." Naruto sounded innately confident with his theory, even as yet more clones burst into life to counter the growing number of statues attempting to join the battle. The Nara was lost for words at the feat, that until now, had barely registered with him. He was well aware of the Kage Bunshin technique, and the fact that any more than one of the solid Bunshin would have put him down with chakra exhaustion. Naruto was throwing them out for_ fun. _He wasn't even out of breath. Then there was the fact that only a month or so ago, the blonde wouldn't have been able to tell you what fuuinjutsu was, let alone be able to identify it's use in the middle of a fight.

"I'm gonna try to destroy one again. Break it up enough so we can see what I thought was a seal. Then, when I do, nail it with the tag, okay?"

"I haven't got any better ideas, Naruto! Are you sure you can pull that off more than once? You're chakra has to be running out by now, and I haven't got the muscle to even stand a chance against more than one or two of these things."

"I- I have more than enough, Shikamaru. Besides, they'd have to put me down for good before I'd let them get to you or Hana, whether or not I had enough chakra or not."

Naruto had hesitated, because that wasn't strictly true. In fact, he'd only really begun to feel any significant loss of chakra after the last bunch of Bunshin. He didn't particularly want Shikamaru however, to start getting too curious about exactly where he got his quite frankly massive reserves from. Whilst he knew the people his age would have to find out eventually, it could most definitely wait until he was ready to tell them on his own terms.

Noticing that the Nara had accepted his answer, and started to prepare his explosive tag, Naruto put his fledgling plan into motion. Two more Kage Bunshin appeared either side of him as the first of the Stone statues broke through the Bunshin he had created to help keep them at bay. They leapt forward, whips of lightning extending from each of their hands, crackling as they wrapped themselves around limbs of the statue. Yanking as hard as their straining limbs could manage, and increasing the amount of chakra they pumped into the jutsu, they tore the statues arms and legs away from it's torso, leaving the body of the statue momentarily suspended in the air.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The Kage Bunshin joined the original Naruto in performing his newest technique, and in an unusual moment of clarity in the moments before the vicious, cutting gale caused by the trio of Naruto copies hit it's mark, the blonde noticed he had improved, if only a little, with the jutsu.

Naruto's accuracy with the jutsu was once again exemplary, the raging torrent of chakra infused air colliding with their target at breakneck speed, grinding at the statue's body, causing it to crumble it rubble, just as Naruto had managed the first time.

And, just as the first time, an eerie red glow in the centre of the pile signalled the start of the reconstruction process.

"Shikamaru, now!" Naruto shouted, leaping back from the area close to the temporarily defeated statue. The Nara hadn't needed to be told, and already having prepared the tag, was simply waiting for Naruto to get out of range of the explosion, before throwing the tag towards the source of the glow that was emanating from the pile of rubble, a light 'fizz' the only evidence that the tag he had wrapped around a kunai to provide the weight required for it to make the distance, was a live explosive.

If Naruto was being honest, the explosion was underwhelming. He had only ever really seen one when he had used his Bunshin to avoid one in the Genin test. He could have sworn it looked much bigger when it was meant to blow _him_ to smithereens.

Disappointing as it may have been to the Genin who, whilst having matured, still liked a good explosion every now and again (who didn't, after all); the tag did it's job, launching the already loose rubble across the canyon in all directions, and illuminating the darkened area inside the canyon rather well.

Neither Naruto or Shikamaru could resist a grin of triumph when, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, and the red glow from the seal was not visible, and the remains of the statue were showing no signs of pulling back together. It was only to be a short lived triumph as Naruto felt the last of his Bunshin that had been fighting the remaining statues was destroyed by a punch to the chest from a one armed statue, and that statue turned to face the Genin.

"Right." Naruto started, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "We know their held together by some kind of seal. Now, from what I know, the seal will be where their chakra is orientating from, and is what makes them so hard to destroy. From what I know, for the seal to work, the seal itself needs to be continuous, like a circuit. So what we need to do to ruin them, is break the circuit."

"Except it's not as simple as that, is it? We can't see the seal, unless it's actually reconstructing them, and they won't have placed all the seals in the same place on each of them. Even you, Naruto, has to run out of chakra at some point, and I've only got another five tags. We can't carry on like we are." Shikamaru finished Naruto's train of thoughts on his behalf, the lazy drawl that usually graced his tone mysteriously absent.

"Well, we'll just have to think of another way to beat them then. I won't let them hurt my comrades." Naruto spoke as if it was the easiest thing in the world, any lack of confidence he may have had not given away by any of his movements. Even as he summoned yet more Kage Bunshin and moved to confront the approaching stone monstrosities once more, he didn't falter. Shikamaru sighed as he formed the hand seal for the one family jutsu he had actually learned.

Shikamaru however, knew it would make little difference. He was relying totally on Naruto. And he didn't like it. Lazy he may be, but Nara Shikamaru cared about his friends; and Naruto, even though they had rarely spoken in their days at the academy, and he had only just gotten to really know the blonde, was certainly his friend. The thought that his laziness would ever endanger any of them had never even crossed his mind. No, he didn't like this feeling of helplessness at all. He _hated _it.

Extending his shadow forward to the closest few statues that Naruto was fighting, he mused that it would be far too troublesome to allow any of his friends or comrades to die because he had been too weak to do anything about it.

* * *

Kakashi's teeth were firmly gritted underneath the mask that covered most of his face. He had realised earlier in the fight that he was not all that he once was in terms of ability, but he hadn't quite cottoned on to exactly how out of shape he was. The fight couldn't have been going on for too long despite how difficult it was to tell time in the heat of battle, and he could already feel fatigue setting in. He was using his sharingan for the first time in much too long, and his limbs burnt more and more with each dodge or attack he had made. He was already starting to slow, and the combined attacks of the pair before him were getting harder and harder to avoid.

Not that the pair before him were any better. They both looked exhausted, but Hitoshi was easily the worse off of the two. Their plan was a simple yet effective one. Hitoshi would take Kakashi in a frontal assault, keep him busy whilst Eiji attempted to strike him whilst he was distracted, and prevented him from retreating back to cover his Genin. However, as Hitoshi was locked almost constantly in battle with Kakashi, he was on his last legs, and covered in wounds, some superficial, others not quite so. Eiji was not that much better. He was nearing the end of his chakra from having maintained his unique technique for so long.

And no matter how tired he was, he was still Hatake Kakashi. He had gained his reputation for a reason and it was time for him to step up his game. Mainly because he wasn't sure how long the Genin under his command would be able to hold out. He had caught glimpses of their fight, and was definitely impressed by the supposedly 'green' Genin, but they would be tiring now, even Naruto, and Kakashi wasn't one to take liberties with the lives of those under his command. It was becoming dangerous for him to draw out this for any longer.

He began pulling on his chakra in preparation for a summoning jutsu that he would use to trap his opponents, when he felt it. That sickeningly vile feeling of tainted chakra that would be burned into his brain for as long as he lived. It was a minute amount of it, and wasn't increasing at the rate you would expect if the seal upon Naruto's chest had been broken, but something had caused the boy to pull on the Kyuubi's power, even unintentionally.

"His own son..." Eiji's mutter was not directed at anyone in particular, but Kakashi wouldn't have heeded it even if it had been.

"As fun as this has been, I'm going to have to cut our little game short. I have more... pressing matters to attend to." The sharingan wielding shinobi's words sounded as if they should have been in jest, but his steely expression and monotone voice suggested the opposite as the he flew threw hand seals.

He had to end this now and stop the seal from releasing any more of the Kyuubi's chakra, or they were all as good as dead.

* * *

Shikamaru, for the second time in only a few minutes, found himself cursing his own weakness as he ducked and weaved between the relentless, albeit slow and cumbersome strikes of the statues that he now faced, alone.

He had allowed himself to get separated from the blonde he was fighting alongside, pushed away and isolated. And all it took was a glancing hit from a thrust aimed at his heart to put his team-mate out of the game. He had partially dodged, and the stone weapon had jarred his shoulder rather than pierce his heart, but the blow had sent him tumbling to the ground, with what he was certain was a fracture on his left shoulder.

All Naruto had seen was the blow and the statue that had struck the Nara tower over him as he attempted to scramble to his feet. It was as though the rest of the battle had disappeared, and all Naruto could see was Shikamaru about to be crushed by the next blow. He dived out of the reach of the statue he had been fighting, and flew in Shikamaru's direction.

However, the blonde's inexperience shone through, and his tunnel vision was punished with extreme prejudice. One of the statues had landed fierce punch to the side of Naruto's chest as he ran, sending the Genin tumbling across the clearing, smashing him into the far wall of the canyon.

That had been a minute ago now at least, and a ragged Shikamaru couldn't help but fear the worst. Even above the din of battle he had heard the cry of the only medic nin of the team, and the few strangled sobs that had escaped her lips since. Shikamaru wasn't sure if a blow like that would be able to kill a person, but he was sure that it could cause damage that would, if left untreated. At any rate, he knew Hana would not have reacted in such a way if it were not serious.

It had been his fault. Naruto had been hurt because Shikamaru hadn't been willing o put in the work. And now, as he leapt back from another attack, clutching his shoulder as his left arm hung limply by his side, he realised that unless Kakashi could defeat his opponents in time to save him, he had little chance of living to regret his mistakes, let alone learn from them. He vowed secretly that if he did live, he would _beg _Asuma-sensei to train him and his team properly.

He ducked under a horizontal slash from the statue directly in front of him, and was forced to dive between it's legs as a thrust from another of the reanimated statues attacked from the left. He grimaced as the landing jarred his shoulder, and rolled instinctively to the right as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was a wise thing to do as yet another statue attempted to stamp on the Genin before he could get himself to his feet.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He hadn't even seen the stone behemoth approach from the side he rolled towards, and was too slow reacting when it did. It slammed it's sandstone hand against his shin, trapping him in place, and breaking the bone cleanly. Shikamaru didn't think he had the air left in his lungs to scream, but a cry of agony forced it's way from his throat regardless.

Held in place on his back by the cold, lifeless hands of one statue, he gazed directly at the nightmarish head of another, searching desperately for a pair of eyes to look into, forgetting between the pain and fear that he would find none.

What he did see was the sword of the statue standing over him raise for the killing blow.

* * *

Pain.

Quite possible more pain then he'd ever felt.

His ribs. Arms. Back. Legs. They were on _fire_.

He tried to move, only his fingers at first. Even they sent shivers of pain through him, jarred him as he tried to form fists.

Arms next. Tried to push himself up, support himself.

He could only gasp in pain as they gave way underneath him. He hadn't realised just how out of breath he was. What had he been doing? Fighting? He had to have been. It was the only explanation his clouded mind could provide. Where was he then? He couldn't seem to find the answer.

A scream. One soaked in pain, rather than fear.

Deathly terror gripped him. His eyes forced themselves open, even as his head swam, and vision blurred. He tried to make sense of what he saw in front of him. It was blurred. He could only make out silhouettes, but he felt a furious, feral anger build. He recognised the scream, instinctively processed it's meaning before he could do it rationally.

Even as he began to take in the information, he felt a familiar sensation flow through him, nearly overwhelming him.

Heat. Power. Potent, familiar chakra. Rage.

He could feel sensations returning to his limbs, pain leave as warmth flowed through him, he began to form cognitive thoughts once more.

A mission. Near to Suna. The stone statues. Protecting his friends. Destroying his enemy. He was on his feet without even realising it; still trying to put the dizzied, blurred pieces together in his head.

A scream.

His eyes flew to where he had been looking before, seeing with clarity he could not remember seeing with before, and before he could process the information, he had set off with speed he could not remember possessing.

**"Take it for now boy. Give them a glimpse of my power, remind them all why they fear me so."**

Naruto had not heard the deep animalistic growl that originated from his within his own consciousness.

* * *

Even as Shikamaru watched the sword belonging to the stone statue that towered over him rise up, poised to strike, he desperately urged himself to move. Every one of his aching muscles strained to get loose from the vice like grip the other statue had on his leg, or even to simply avoid the coming attack. But he didn't have the strength left, and he knew it.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red. He barely had time to turn to see it before it was up close and personal, barrelling into the statue about to finish him of, splintering it's body into hundreds of pieces upon impact. It turned in mid-air, landing on the ground for the briefest of moments before turning it's attentions towards the statue that pinned Shikamaru's against the floor.

"Get your hands off of my friend!" Naruto's voice came out closer to a guttural shout than his normal voice; and the blonde didn't give the statue an opportunity to comply with his demand, launching himself at the faceless monstrosity, right fist pounding straight through the statue's sandstone head, shattering it before withdrawing his sansetsukon, which was practically aglow with the strange red chakra Naruto appeared to be emitting.

Shikamaru couldn't help but stare at the strange energy that seemed to billow around the blonde, twisting around him, creating a maelstrom of what appeared to be vortexes of red chakra. He couldn't wrap his mind around it, nor the feeling that seemed to accompany it's presence. A terrifying feeling that seemed to penetrate to the Nara's core, one of unquenchable blood lust and hate; that was only amplified by the manner in which Naruto struck out at the beheaded statue's torso with a horizontal smash, cleaving the body of it in two.

The blonde turned to face him, eliciting a quiet gasp of shock. Whatever that chakra was, it had changed his appearance, with the whisker marks that Shikamaru had always assumed were whisker marks deepening and becoming thicker, and his canines had elongated slightly, making him resemble some kind of animal. The most shocking change was in his eyes. They had changed from their usual bright and energetic blue, to a shade of red not dissimilar to that of blood, and Shikamaru couldn't make out any emotion other than anger in them.

Naruto winced a little at Shikamaru's reaction to his gaze. He had meant to ask if Shikamaru was okay to move, but judging by the sharp intake of breath, the Kyuubi's chakra had altered his appearance, though by how much, Naruto couldn't tell.

Still, he had to admit, he felt as good as he'd ever felt with the demonic chakra in his system. He was faster, stronger, more alert than before, not to mention it felt like he hadn't used a single jutsu in a few days.

However, Naruto knew the strength was coming at a price.

He didn't feel like he was losing control as such, but he could hear whispers in the back of his mind. Whispers urging him to kill, wound and hurt. Spill the blood of everyone around him. Telling him to call on more and more of the foxes chakra, more and more power. They had started out quiet – barely audible as he moved to help Shikamaru. But only moments later they had increased in volume and number, penetrating his mind, influencing his thoughts. He wouldn't be able to maintain using this much of the Kyuubi's power for very long and still be able to maintain control of his own actions. And the blonde wasn't about to lose control again. He knew he didn't have a second chance where the Kyuubi was concerned.

He'd have to end it as quickly as he could, and with as little chakra as possible; a task made all the more complicated by the fact he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra increasing in his limbs whenever he moved, in order to facilitate his enhanced speed in strength. In other words, with every movement or slight exertion, he was pulling on more and more on the Kyuubi's power; the rate at which he did so increasing relative to how fast he was moving, or amount of strength he was using.

What's more, he could no longer feel his own, personal chakra. It was like it had been superseded by the Kyuubi's once he allowed himself to draw on the fox's chakra.

Fortunately, Naruto had a plan. He wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to get all of the statues, and it would draw upon more of the fox's chakra than he could handle. If he had of thought it through a bit more, he would realise it was reckless, and would need to come off almost perfectly to avoid causing himself some quite serious harm. But he would also realise it was all he had.

Silently, he created a pair of Kage Bunshin who headed over to Shikamaru, and lifted him, doing their best not to put any stress on his shoulder, and placed him with Hana, who had stopped working on Baki the moment Naruto had begun to use the fox's chakra. Realising she had been distracted by the events around her, a glaring mistake for a medic nin, who are expected to be able to work on patients in the heat of battle without being distracted by the events around them, she moved to check the Nara's shoulder and leg. They were both broken, although the shoulder was in far worse shape, with the collarbone shattered at the location of impact. Mentally, she decided the best course of action would be to administer a painkilling jutsu, and continue work on the Jonin, who had been nearly ready to move.

The Kage Bunshin had since returned to the side of their creator, who was preparing to make his move. Three more Kage Bunshin appeared alongside them, and immediately the group made to surround the statues, who had begin to move towards them.

"Fuuton: Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!" Each of the Naruto's shouted simultaneously, several spheres of chakra infused wind that seemed to glow red, much larger and more intense than anything he had used before, erupted from each of them, tearing into the group of statues that they had seemingly rounded into a tight group. Naruto had aimed for the legs, where weak points still remained on most of the statues, and the result was devastating. Each sphere ripped through several sets of legs before dissipating, causing almost all of the statues to crumple in on themselves in a heap on the cold sandstone floor, leaving only a pair of the stone giants standing,but Naruto was not done.

His Kage Bunshin leapt into the air, using chakra to get the required height needed to get into an aerial vantage point from which they could all focus the jutsu they were each racing through the hand seals for. The original had stayed on the ground, forming his own set of seals, at a more reserved pace.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" The cry of Naruto's Kage Bunshin came the moment they reached the peak of their leap, each unleashing a veritable storm of raging winds, that tore viciously at the statues in the group, chakra enhanced blades of wind grinding and cutting the collapsed statues into piles of rubble before them.

The original only briefly had time to marvel at how potent the Kyuubi's chakra was compared to his own, before returning his focus on the jutsu he was about to perform. He thought he had moved Shikamaru far enough away to not be at risk, but he couldn't be sure, especially not whilst using the power of the Fox. He had only ever really used this jutsu properly a few times, and he had never been able to keep as much control over it as Jiraiya could.

Time was up, he noted, as a familiar red glow began in several places amongst the rubble of the statues, as they began to reform. He needed to do this before they had reformed enough to protect their seals from this attack. He wasn't confident that it would be able to destroy the stone in the same way his Fuuton techniques did. All his Kage Bunshin had dispelled besides one, who was preparing the final technique he needed to hopefully, end this battle. First though, he needed to perform his own. He only hoped he had kept the area of the jutsu down enough.

"Katon: Kasumi Endu no jutsu!"

The light misty gas erupted from his mouth billowing out into the clearing amongst the downed statues, spreading out, covering every single one of them, but not spreading out any further. He had pulled off it off perfectly, with just the right amount of chakra. His grin was as wide as i had ever been even as he jumped back, partly to get out of the way, but mostly, so that he's be able to see the fireworks. He glanced over to his Bunshin, who had just finished his own set of hand seals.

"Katon: Komakai Kaki." The results where as spectacular as any of the Sannin's demonstrations had been, searing flames erupting into a fierce inferno, the moment the small fireball had come into the vicinity of the mist, igniting it, turning the area into an all consuming dome of flames. Now _that_, was an explosion. Nothing like those boring explosive tags.

That's when the blonde finally felt it.

The effects of all his Kyuubi enhanced Bunshin, each performing those jutsu with chakra that wasn't their own, combined with all of his enhanced movements. The amount of the Kyuubi#s chakra pulsating through him had increased more than he ever thought it would have, white hot power flowing like rivers of lava through his chakra network, a bubbling pyroclastic flow of demonic chakra leaking from his tenketsu, covering him in a dense orange sheet of chakra.

The whispers had become screams in the foreground of his mind.

He needed more power, had to have it. More chakra, more power - power to kill, power to maim. He wanted nothing more.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Gathering every vestige of his willpower, he pushed back. Tried to suppress the urges, suppress the desire. Shout above the screams. He wouldn't lose to the fox again, not while he could still fight, not while there was breath left in his body. Even as his body had lowered onto all fours without him trying, even as his features grew yet more animalistic and feral.

He'd protect his friends, even if what he was protecting them from was himself.

He struggled for what was, in reality, seconds, but felt to him like hours, until he could no longer feel the levels of chakra in him increasing, but rather, gradually decreasing. He was beating it. Even as his body had dropped to it's knees, he felt the red haze lift away from his thoughts.

He was breathing heavily, and his vision swam as he fought the fox's will with his own. Even as he struggled, he saw that three of the statues had survived his attack. Apparently he hadn't been fast enough with his jutsu, or thorough enough with the first barrage. If he could, he would have cursed his luck. As it was, all he could do was grit his teeth, as he continued to force back the Kyuubi's power.

His muscles tensed as he felt a hand on his forehead. He hadn't sensed an approach. He hadn't even realised there was anybody else in the canyon. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming peace wash over him. He couldn't even sense a trace of the Kyuubi. Not it's power. Nor it's blood lust, or it's hatred. Just peace, and calm. But, even as he fell forward into unconsciousness, a voice he recognised alleviated the his worries. He would sleep without concern for his friends, because he now knew the were safe.

"Rest, Uzumaki-san. You fought impressively. I will take care of the rest."

And Uzuki Yuugao, even with her ANBU mask on, was not one to lie to a comrade. She had watched Naruto's fight from the beginning, and was stunned at the blonde's progression, even though she had taught him. Almost everything he had worked had come on leaps and bounds, strategy, chakra control, taijutsu - it had all come together perfectly. It was difficult to remember that Naruto was a totally green Genin, with no experience in the field on the basis of how he had fought. A totally green Genin fighting against a jutsu that should have been far too much for him to deal with. Yet he and Shikamaru had, admirably. The way in which Naruto had spurned his comrade on, just by being himself, had also not gone unnoticed.

But there was no escaping the fact that this was an incredibly advanced technique, and Naruto and Shikamaru were just Genin. She knew she was going to have to intervene, especially since Kakashi was struggling with his own battle, it was just a matter of when. When the chakra cloak had begun to form around the blonde, was her signal to move. She had been briefed by Jiraiya before he had left about the basics of Jinchuuriki, and control, and new Naruto had taken on more of the Kyuubi's chakra than he could handle. Incredibly, as she placed the demonic chakra suppressant that Jiraiya had given her as a precaution on him, she noticed that he had fought back much of the demon's power himself.

However, now she had to deal with the rest of these statues, and go and aid Kakashi with his own battle. Wordlessly, she drew the first of her katana and turned her attention towards the towering figures that had given her student so much trouble.

* * *

Kakashi was just about as relieved as he had ever been in his whole life, even as he dodged a wild strike from Eiji. Yuugao's intervention had been timely to say the least, given the wildly fluctuating chakra levels Naruto had been expending as he had fought for control with his tenant, and the fact that Kakashi was really in no position to do anything about it himself. The Jonin had wildly underestimated the capabilities of the Kekkei Genkai that Eiji possessed, and now he had very little chakra with which to finish his own fight.

His plan had been pretty simple really, perhaps too simplistic, even though it is often the basic plans that tend to work the best. Lay down a cover with the smoke bombs, and use his Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu, a tracking jutsu where his nin dogs would locate and trap the enemy in the smoke, leaving them vulnerable for Kakashi to finish off with his Raikiri, a lightning technique designed to kill.

It had only half worked.

Eiji had been fast to realise the basics of Kakashi's plan, and even though two of the dogs had managed to grab hold of him, had disappeared underground too quickly for the others to get a proper hold on the ninja. Hitoshi however, had not been so lucky. Trapped under the weight of four if the dogs, including a particularly large brown specimen, with it's considerably powerful jaws clamped onto his shoulder. He was a sitting duck, and one that didn't stand much of a chance since Kakashi was already on the move towards him, Raikiri prepared. The Konoha shinobi aimed for the heart.

Hatake Kakashi rarely missed with any jutsu. It was even rarer that he missed with his own technique.

Now, for the first time since he had left ANBU, he felt the warm, crimson red liquid soak into his sleeve, as Hitoshi's punctured heart struggled to beat it's last. He looked into the eyes of his enemy, as the life drained out of them, his Sharingan burning the image into his brain to join the hundreds of others that already existed there.

"Hatake, you bastard!" Eiji's enraged cry was expected by Kakashi, who spun round to block the attack, leaving Hitoshi's body to unceremoniously crumple on the floor, still bleeding from the gaping wound carved into his chest by Kakashi's jutsu.

Now, Kakashi found himself beset by a furious assault from the remaining enemy shinobi, not unlike the ones Hitoshi himself had been using to allow Eiji the opportunities to strike. He used his Kekkei Genkai to coat his fists and legs in a layer of rock, adding mass to his strikes, forcing Kakashi to dodge, rather than block his relentless barrage of kicks and punches. Something that the Konoha ninja did infuriatingly well, given how tired he looked.

Gradually, Eiji opened himself up more and more, allowing Kakashi windows to counter. Eiji launched a wild punch, it's wide arc making it easy to predict and dodge - a careless error brought on by fatigue both mental and physical - and Kakashi capitalised. He caught the punch at Eiji's wrist, avoiding the danger of stone covered fists, and brutally drove his elbow into the Iwa shinobi's face. Staggering backwards, clutching a broken nose that was leaking crimson down his face, he as in no position to block a powerful kick aimed at his chest that sent him tumbling to the ground, momentum taking him a few feet away from where he had originally stood.

"What I still don't understand;" Kakashi began, walking slowly towards the downed Iwa shinobi, a kunai in hand, prepared to deliver the final blow. "Is how you managed it all. Taking Baki down, killing the rest of his squad, the fuuinjutsu on the statues and then fighting me is no small accomplishment for the pair of you. Who has been helping you? Where are they?"

The slight on their abilities Kakashi had slipped into his questioning did not stop Eiji from erupting into a harsh, weezy laugh, as he struggled to fight the pain from his wounds, and regain his breath after being winded from the kick to his chest.

"Telling you wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. You're a dead man whether you know who's after you or not. The people who helped us set this up, they're a class above – powerful beyond belief. Not even you have a hope. Although, strangely they didn't seem to be all that interested in you, Hatake. They seemed far more interested in that blonde piece of shit tagging along."

Kakashi stopped dead. Incredibly powerful shinobi out to get a Genin? Except he wasn't just any Genin, was he? He was the Yondaime's son, and the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. His mood darkened considerably as he recalled a conversation with Jiraiya, just a day before he had left for the mission with Naruto.

Akatsuki. A group of S-classed shinobi, who Jiraiya suspected, had an alarming interest in the Biju. Naruto could be in danger, and even the presence of Yuugao, an exceptional ninja in her own right, made little difference to their odds should they decide to attack.

"Who are they, Eiji. You will talk." Kakashi's voice had taken on a grim, steely quality, reflecting the importance of his question, threatening dark consequences should answered not be provided. Eiji simply laughed again, louder this time, his breathing a little easier.

"Didn't I already tell you Hatake? Knowing their names wouldn't save from them even if you had years to prepare. You know them well though, very well. Their power has grown since you last encountered them, too. They are called -"

Eiji stopped suddenly in mid-sentence as his body began to shake and judder uncontrollably, his limbs contorting in spasms of pain. Kakashi couldn't help but look on in morbid fascination as pitch black markings began to spread out from the Iwa shinobi's forehead, lines spiralling and weaving their way around him in strange, otherworldly patterns. Eiji's stomach muscles jerked and contracted viciously, pulling his body into the foetal position and, moments later, he began to gurgle deeply, as though he were drowning in some thick, stodgy liquid.

It took Kakashi a moment to realise Eiji had been gurgling on his own blood, his torso's torso sudden contraction an indicator of some kind of severe internal trauma to one of his major organs, most likely his lungs. He died by drowning – in the middle of the desert.

"A silencing seal." Yuugao had apparently finished with the statues, and after a cursory glance, Kakashi noticed that she had done so without so much as disturbing her hair. Of course, he already knew what had befallen Eiji, having seen more than his fair share of similar seals during his days in ANBU. In fact, he wore two himself as a result of events that happened on duty. The premise was simple – the seal is placed on someone, and from that point on until the person who placed it removes it, any attempt to speak of certain subjects, or reveal certain facts as specified by the creator of the seal, results in a swift and timely death.

Of course, whilst the idea was simple, the actual technique was incredibly complex and difficult. Out of all the Konoha shinobi, only the Sandaime and Jiraiya possessed the ability to place similar seals, which spoke volumes for the ones whose identity Eiji had attempted to reveal.

"Are you fit to move, Kakashi? We're going to need to get a move on. Baki is ready to be moved, and I can aid with the transportation of the Nara and Naruto, as long as you're ready. We need to get to Suna as quickly as we can. Here-" Yuugao paused to dig around in the pouch attached to her left thigh, and pulled out a small red pill, holding it out to Kakashi. "Take this. It will keep you going until we can make it to Suna."

Kakashi took the pill without hesitation. It was a 'soldier pill', a drug designed to stimulate the chakra regeneration process. It would give a shinobi a large, albeit temporary boost in chakra, either compensating for lost chakra, or boosting existing supplies. It was massively useful to Kakashi, who was closer than he'd like to passing out from the chakra exhaustion using his Sharingan for extended periods of time was prone to cause. He almost instantaneously felt the pill's effect, reinvigorating him with chakra and energy.

"Thank you, Yuugao." Kakashi said, noting that the woman had removed her ANBU mask, negating the need for secrecy. "And you're right, we had best get moving. How do you suggest we proceed? I doubt Baki or Shikamaru will be able to move all that well considering, and Naruto is still unconscious."

"I've used Kage Bunshin to help Baki and Shikamaru get moving, and three shouldn't affect my reserves too badly should we be attacked. I'll carry Naruto myself. That way we should be able to move fairly quickly, and hopefully make it to Suna without incident."

Kakashi glanced over at where the Genin had fought, and saw a pair of Bunshin helping Baki to his feet, and another lifting Shikamaru onto it's back. Hana was at work over Naruto, likely checking for any serious wounds that would impede moving him. The Jonin doubted any would be found. The Kyuubi's chakra possessed a strong healing quality, and when Naruto had been using it, it was likely it had sped up the healing of his wounds by an incredible amount.

"Well then, Yuugao, ready to get going when you are – although, I feel a little guilty at not helping you carry anyone..."

* * *

Naruto currently felt more at ease than he had ever done in his whole life. He felt like he was sleeping wrapped in fresh, pure white clouds, in the worlds comfiest bed. He tried moving a little, just an arm, to try and rub his eyes ready to start his day.

And that was when the pain hit him.

It started as a kind of dull ache, his muscles protesting as he tried to move, but as he tried to move a little further, ignoring their complaints, it erupted into a full blown throbbing pain, right through his entire body. He tried to focus on the bits that didn't feel like they had been clubbed into submission. Trying to opening his eyes, he was greeted with an sinister feeling of familiarity, a sickening kind of deja vu, and a brilliantly bleached white ceiling.

Fantastic. The hospital. His least favourite place in the entire world. But why was he in the hospital?

His pounding muscles returned to the forefront of his mind. It felt like he'd lost a fight with a wrecking ball. A fight. The mission. Of course! The mission, the stone statues...

"Shikamaru!" Naruto sat bolt upright, his muscles burning as he did so becoming irrelevant, as the memories invaded his mind, the most recent one being of Shikamaru about to be struck down by one of the stone army they had been facing.

"Is just fine." The words were strung out lazily, and were all Naruto needed to be reassured about the well being of his friend. "And, by some kind of miracle, you are too."

"What happened? I can't remember anything after you got pinned down by that statue."

"You happened Naruto." Shikamaru sighed heavily at Naruto's confused expression, and began to explain what had happened to Naruto, noting with some interest Naruto's discomfort when he mentioned the 'red chakra' the blonde had used during the fight. Both Kakashi and Yuugao had brushed him off when he had asked, which only served to pique the Nara's curiosity. It appeared that Naruto was a veritable web of mysteries and unanswered questions. As soon as you got the answer to one, there was another two waiting to ensnare you. "And once we made it to Suna, the three of us who fought and the Suna Jonin, Baki, were admitted to the hospital. You had chakra exhaustion, which is pretty serious business – you've been out for two days now; but they patched me and Baki up soon enough, broken bones are easy enough to fix after all, although I'll have to take it easy for a bit."

Naruto couldn't help but notice Shikamaru seemed absolutely delighted at the idea of 'taking it easy'.

"So, what do we do now? I mean, the mission is over right, 'cos the Suna Jonin is safe, so what's the plan?"

"Good question, Naruto!" This time it was Kakashi speaking, entering the room looking untouched, almost as though the events of a few days ago had never occurred, familiar orange book in hand. However, despite his _distraction_, he didn't miss Naruto shift uncomfortably in his bed when he spoke. As Kakashi had suspected, Naruto wouldn't be able to brush off what Eiji and Hitoshi had revealed as 'part of shinobi life' in the same way that Shikamaru and Hana had. He pocketed his book almost without realising he was doing it; this conversation wasn't particularly one he wanted to have, but Kakashi had a feeling it was coming whether he liked it or not.

"Shikamaru, you look hungry. There's a ramen stand in town, perhaps you should go get some food? Naruto might be well enough to join you in a bit." The smile hadn't left the Jonin's voice, but the serious nature of his voice gave away all it needed to the Nara. Shikamaru glanced between the Jonin and Naruto, and sighed heavily, almost dragging himself to his feet, and finally made for the door.

"You know what, you're right. I hadn't noticed it before, but I guess I am pretty hungry. Catch you later, Naruto." The Nara threw a cursory wave over his shoulder as he left the hospital room through it's only door, closing it behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I-..." The words died on Naruto's tongue as he racked his brain for the right way to approach the topic that was on his mind – the so-called 'Raiden-Massacre'. "I'm not totally stupid, and I'm not nearly as naive as I used was when I graduated, I know ninja have to kill as part of their missions. But they said the number was 27, all of them Genin? Even during a war, I don't understand what kind of a mission-"

"It wasn't a mission Naruto." Kakashi sounded tired beyond his years, like the retired, grizzled old veterans that Naruto would occasionally see around the village. Scarred, wounded old men and women, each never having totally recovered from the damage countless battles and comrades lost causes to a human, both physical and mental. Each had their own tales, some of glorious victories, some of epic, monumental battles, even more of the many heroic figures Konoha has; but most of all, tales of tragedy and loss. A team-mate, friend or lover, gone before their time.

A shinobi from the age of 5, thrust at that age into the fires of war, Naruto briefly supposed that he _was_ one of those grizzled own veterans.

"Then how did it happen? If you weren't on a mission, I mean?" Naruto found himself unsure about whether he really wanted to continue to press Kakashi on the matter, well aware that he was likely dredging up some of the man's most tortuous and painful personal demons. He knew Kakashi was not a 'bad' person, which was precisely why hearing that he had done such a thing had unsettled him so much. How on earth did someone like Kakashi end up doing something like that? Naruto couldn't fathom it.

"In order to understand why I did what I did, I'll have to tell you a little about myself and my team at the time." Kakashi sat down next to Naruto's bed, all the while considering exactly how much detail to go into about his past. "Early on in my shinobi career, I was obsessed with the shinobi code of conduct. I lived by them, followed them without exception. When one of my team-mates was captured by an enemy during the war, I was even willing to abandon her in order to complete the mission we had been assigned."

Naruto felt his fists clenching as Kakashi spoke. What he was talking about went against everything he stood for as a shinobi, every fibre of his being, and everything his father - Kakashi's own sensei - stood for. Yet; from what he knew about Kakashi, it went against his nature, too.

"However, my other team-mate, insisted that we save her before continuing with the mission. He changed my mind, helped me see that I was wrong to blindly follow the code, helped me to see that comrades - and friends, were more important than the 'rules'. And we made to save our comrade, and we did. But, in the battle he was killed, and his dying wish was that I protected the team-mate we had fought to save. It was only after his death, that I realised he was the closest thing to a friend I had ever had." Kakashi inhaled deeply, and exhaled in turn, trying to keep the emotions surfacing from talking for the first time about his old team-mates since the Yondaime had died, as 'in check' as he could.

"After that, the war dragged on and on, and eventually thanks your father, was drawing to a close. My remaining team-mate was on a routine patrol without me, and they were ambushed. She and the rest of the squad she was with, were killed. I had broken my promise to my best friend, and my only other friend had just been killed. A few hours after the news of her death had reached our front-line base, a reconnaissance team returned, having found a newly established Iwa base, not far from our own.

"In my head, I put two and two together, and got five. I was so angry, that I lost my cool, and made the assumption that those in the stronghold were responsible for her death. I went after them, alone, and attacked the base. I don't remember much of the initial attack, but after a while, it became clear that those inside were not responsible for the attack on my team-mates' squad. It was a detachment of newly-minted Genin, with a pair of Chunin commanders; put in place, essentially, as a decoy to distract our recon teams, and lead them away from the bases that contained their main forces.

"It was a tactic used by both sides, and an unspoken rule existed to capture, rather than kill such detachments, since most were fresh academy graduates in a time when average graduation age was eight years old. I didn't even realise what I had done until I had killed almost every one inside. In the end, it was the Fourth who stopped me, and took me away from the base and brought me back."

Kakashi stopped, suddenly unsure how he should continue. Naruto was dead silent, taking in what Kakashi had said, and the way he had said it. It was like he had just listened to a debriefing, rather than a retelling of a tragic moment in a man's life. Kakashi had intentionally tried to avoid delving too deeply into the way he felt about what had happened, and perhaps belatedly, Naruto realised that the man was still grieving deeply, both for his comrades, and his enemies; and felt a pang of guilt at having disturbed memories, that had likely been left untouched by anyone other than Kakashi for a long time.

However, Naruto found himself understanding Hatake Kakashi, more than he ever had done. What would he have done if he had lost two friends, two of his precious people?

He couldn't claim he would be any different. He wasn't sure he'd want to be. But that realisation raised uncomfortable questions about the world all shinobi lived in. Naruto had all his life strove to become a shinobi, not just to gain - but also to give. He wanted to help people, save them from evil. Some would call it noble, others childish, naive. It didn't matter to him, he intended to stay true to those goals. But, in the end, would his life as a ninja cause more pain, more suffering, than it would relieve?

"Kakashi-sensei, why do shinobi exist? I mean, what is the point of being a ninja? Hokage-jiji once told me it was about protecting people, helping them and making the happy. It was part of the reason I wanted to be a ninja, and nothing has changed, I still want to protect people. But..." Naruto trailed off, trying to piece together what he wanted to say from the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.

"But it seems like the entire shinobi world is trapped in some kind of cycle of revenge and hatred, right? We fight a war, and the time between that war and the next is filled with people taking revenge for their losses in the first. Killing the person that killed their loved ones, and the loved ones of the person taking revenge in return." Kakashi finished on behalf of the blonde, well aware that the issue was beyond the scope of what any young Genin should be considering. The blonde just nodded in agreement, still trying to process the leap their conversation had made, find some kind of solution in his head, so it would all make sense.

"I think it's something that every shinobi discovers, in their own time, and most simply accept it, carry on with their lives until either they succumb to it, or retire. Your father and Jiraiya, his sensei, both spent their lives trying to find an answer - trying to stop the cycle. Jiraiya, I believe, has been looking his entire life, and still is." To the Jonin's surprise, Naruto brightened as Kakashi spoke.

"I guess that settles it then. I'll find the answer." The finality of Naruto's words perplexed Kakashi, especially given that it had seemed he fully understood the gravity of such a task. The blonde however took the lack of a response to mean that Kakashi was doubting his ability to accomplish the task. "Before now, I had two goals as a ninja. To become Hokage so I can protect the village and my friends, and to make my Dad proud. I'll find the answer my Dad couldn't, and I'll make him proud doing it, and that is a promise. I know it's not going to be easy Kakashi-sensei, if it was, someone would have already found an answer. But I will do it. First, I'll become Hokage so I can protect the people I love, then, I'll find a way to use that to find a way to stop the cycle of hatred, and protect everyone else." Naruto's words had become fierce, his eyes providing a startling view into the determination he held. He meant every word he said.

And before Kakashi could stop himself, he found himself believing too.

"Thanks for talking to me about this Kakashi-sensei, you didn't have to." Kakashi simply smiled at the blonde through his mask, and dismissively shook his head at the thanks. "But don't think this lets you off! It was technically your fault we were attacked!" The Jonin nearly fell out of his chair at the practically bi-polar way in which the Naruto's tone had changed, genuine heartfelt gratitude to what seemed like an impersonation of one of his own Genin, Sakura, when loudly 'pointing out' that he had arrived to a team meeting late.

"I mean, I think I deserve some kind of compensation. Compensation, like, I dunno, a new jutsu or two at least..."

"Huh? What was that Naruto? Shouldn't you be meeting with Shikamaru by now? He's been waiting for quite a while now you know..."

Naruto hadn't seen Kakashi pull out the book he had his nose buried in, nor did he notice the Jonin form the single hand seal required for the Shunshin he used to escape the punch Naruto had aimed at his face, leaping from his hospital bed to reach his target.

As it was, all he made contact with was air. And the floor, with his face, when he unceremoniously landed in a crumpled heap close to where Kakashi had been.

"You owe me a jutsu Kakashi-sensei! I don't ever forget when it comes to Jutsu!" The blonde shouted, fist raised threateningly in the air to no-one in particular. "Now then... time to find that Ramen stand!"

**Finished! Finally. Long ass chapter, that was incredibly awkward to write, almost all the way through. Some trouble actually getting this one up, because of internet issues, which is one of the main reasons this one has been delayed for quite as long as it has. Hope you enjoy it, my first proper fight scenes and first mission and all that.**

**Also, I can't say for sure, but don't expect this to be the last you'll hear of the 'dead village'. It's such a cool setting and idea, that hasn't really been fully exploited yet; and I fully intend to do that, either in this, or another fic.  
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**And finally, a massive shout-out to Rising Mist, who's reviewed pretty much every chapter of 'Inheritance' so far, and has been really good in terms of criticism and corrections and such. I really appreciate that, and I strongly recommend that you all go check out the beginnings of his own fic 'The Mysterious Bond'.  
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**Thank you everybody for the reviews, both positive and negative. I will definitely be going through and proof-reading previous chapters to a much better quality, and I've gone back this week and made an amendment to the portion on muscle memory in chapter 6, that as a few people pointed out was wrong.  
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**See you on the next update!  
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	18. Gaara!

_Chapter 18_

The warm broth – all that remained of the ramen Naruto had been eating - particularly veraciously, even he himself would have to admit – poured down his throat, warming his insides as he felt it descend into his seemingly bottomless stomach. He couldn't help but smile as he began raising his hand to order yet another pristine white bowl of his favourite meal from the chef, who himself wore a grin; as since the pair of Konoha shinobi had taken a seat at his stand, takings had been particularly good. He had every right to look smug, Naruto briefly considered; his ramen was nearly as good as Teuchi's, the man who owned Ichiraku's, his favourite restaurant, the man who in his expert opinion, cooked the greatest ramen in the world.

Another steaming bowl had soon found it's way under his nose, and he thanked the chef enthusiastically, and began eating, enjoying both the food and the sights and sounds of the strange place that Naruto found himself in, not to mention the company of a more subdued than usual Shikamaru, his team-mate on their recently completed mission. After talking with Kakashi, Naruto had been allowed to leave the hospital in order to eat with the Nara, something he was infinitely glad for. He hated hospitals more than almost anything he could think of and had desperately wanted to leave it from the moment he had woken up.

However, equal to his desire to leave the hospital, was his desire to explore Sunagakure, the shinobi village he now found himself in. And even during the brief walk to the ramen stand where Shikamaru had been waiting, the village didn't disappoint. It was the first shinobi village he had ever been to outside of Konoha, and he couldn't help but stare and gape at almost everything in the village, much akin to the many civilian tourists who travelled to Konoha. Everything was built from the sandstone that laid all about in the rockier areas of the desert that surrounded the village, rather than the brick and timber used for construction in Konoha. It was all so different, the shapes of the buildings, the way the people dressed, the very air he breathed held a different feeling to Konoha's, parched and hot, like it was trying to make him dry up and turn to sand even as he walked, all so very alien; and yet, it was all so familiar. Shinobi weaved expertly to and fro amongst the civilian bustle of merchants and people shopping, going about their business of missions, patrols and reports, and despite their different exterior, Naruto identified various shops and banks, and towering over them on the distance was a building that dominated the landscape, much the same way that the Hokage tower dominated the Konoha skyline. Not only that, but the blonde could feel eyes on his back at all times, although he couldn't see anyone following him, and he knew that he was being watched by the local Suna equivalent of ANBU black-ops; as often he was in Konoha, albeit for different reasons. At the forefront of his mind however, was naturally, how similar the ramen stand here looked to Ichiraku's.

He glanced sideways at Shikamaru, who was still only on his first bowl, and had spent more time playing with his food than eating it. The Nara seemed to be lost in thought, which wasn't exactly unusual; however, it didn't take a genius to notice that he was definitely more sombre than usual. Shikamaru had apparently noticed Naruto's not-exactly-subtle concerned glances and turned the the blonde sitting beside him._  
_

"Naruto...can I ask you a question?" Shikamaru spoke tentatively, seemingly unsure of himself. Naruto simply nodded, gesturing for Shikamaru to continue, not wanting to speak with his mouthful whilst the Nara was trying to talk about whatever had been bothering him. "Why do you try so hard? To become strong, I mean. Before you always said you wanted to be Hokage, but it's not hard to see you've changed a little since those days in the academy. Is that still the reason, or has that changed as well?"

"Yes and no, I guess." Naruto began, searching his minds for the words to express how he felt. "I still want to be Hokage, but I suppose the reasons I want that have changed. Before, it was to gain the recognition and the attention of everyone in the village. I guess I wanted the love and respect that the old man has now, you know?"

Shikamaru nodded in understanding. Everyone knew Naruto was an orphan, and not particularly well-liked, although the idea that the reason for this was because of his reputation as a prankster was highly dubious in the Nara's eyes. At any rate, it was obvious why that would have appealed to the blonde.

"And now?"

"I get what being Hokage really means." Naruto answered, as though it was the most simple thing in the world. "A Hokage has to be the best, not because they want people to care, to see them; but because they're the ones who have to protect everyone. Every ninja, every civilian - a Hokage has to be able to ready to fight for everyone, no matter what it takes. And, once I realised that, I realised that it's exactly what I want to do, too. Konoha is my home, and the home of those precious to me, and as cheesy as it sounds, I'll die before I let anyone hurt them, or it."

Naruto sighed deeply, and stared into his own bowl of ramen, just as Shikamru had been doing before.

"But, as I am I'm not nearly strong enough to protect everyone the way I want to. So I've got to train as hard as I can, for as long as I can, until I am that person that can protect everyone. And I won't fail. I'll become Hokage, and I'll keep everyone safe."

For a moment, Shikamaru almost found himself believing that last part. At the very least, Naruto was proving to be interesting to be around. He was like a jigsaw whose pieces kept changing. He hadn't expected such an honest or detailed answer, but somehow, he knew it was the one he needed.

That, however, didn't make the answer any less troublesome.

"Say, Naruto." Shikamaru noticed the blonde had finished the bowl of ramen he was on, and decided that now was as good a time as any to break the comfortable silence that ha broken out after Naruto had spoken. "Hana's gone to explore some more of the village. How about you head out and join her? Kakashi's given me enough money to pay for the food anyway."

"How about you, Shikamaru? You're not coming?"

"I'll come and find you guys later on, I've got some things to do."

Naruto looked curious, but decided not to question the Nara before getting up from the stand and heading off to find the Inuzuka they had set out on this mission with, something for which Shikamaru was very grateful. He thanked the chef, and paid for the food before setting out in the opposite direction to Naruto. He needed to think some more, and could do without the distraction of an energetic blonde.

In truth, their mission was still heavily weighing on his mind. He knew he should have been able to do more, but in the end, he had been little more than a distraction. In the end, Naruto had gotten injured saving _his _skin.

He had often repeated his mantra of wanting to be an 'average shinobi'. But it was only now he had truly gotten started as one that he realised the massive error and oversight involved with that line of thinking. Being a shinobi was not some 9-5 desk job, where average was the name of the game. The average die more often than they live, or someone dies trying to keep them safe. He, or a friend could be killed because the Nara wasn't as good as he could, or should be.

Yet, could he just back out? Could he really leave those same friends to risk their lives as shinobi, whilst he went and took an easy civilian job? It was out of the question.

When he had been assigned to Asuma, his Jonin sensei's team, and they had discussed their dreams and plans for the future. When he had heard Shikamaru's 'average life' plan, Asuma had chuckled, and smiled knowingly. He had told him that his attitude wouldn't last past his first few missions. Now, the Nara thought he understood what he had meant.

All of a sudden, Shikamaru got the feeling that him being requested for this mission had more to do with his own sensei, then the Hokage himself.

It didn't matter either way. Shikamaru had made his decision. He guessed he didn't have much choice in the end, because he, like Naruto, wouldn't be able to just stand by and watch his friends fight. Which really only left him with one option, no matter how very troublesome it was.

* * *

"I said apologize, you bastard!" Naruto's voice escalated the more he repeated his command to the Suna shinobi in front of him again.

The blonde hadn't been walking long before he had run into Hana, who had been using her medical jutsu to help a small boy who had managed to bang their head, and had apparently been bleeding pretty badly. Naruto didn't really need anything more than the glare the Inuzuka had been sending towards the ninja that now stood before him to figure out that that he was probably the cause of the problem.

Unfortunately, the red-headed shinobi wasn't willing to play ball, and simply stood silently, staring at Naruto, his expression totally unreadable.

"I won't ask you-"

"The weak..." The boy, who was about the same age as Naruto, finally rasped, as though it were a struggle just to speak. "...Should not stand in the path of those... who are strong."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the boys words, trying to work out what exactly he was referring to.

"Are you saying you did that to a kid because he was in your way?!" Naruto's incredulity was evident in his voice.

"I was talking... about you."

"What the he-" Naruto was cut off again, but this time the interruption came in the form of the sand he had been standing on attempting to coil itself around his ankles. The blonde jumped back in surprise, but failed to notice the tendril of sand emerging behind him until it was too late; the tentacle-like apparition swinging horizontally at him as he turned to face it, crashing into his ribcage and sending him staggering sideways. Winded, and clutching where he had been struck, the blonde created a pair of Kage Bunshin who made towards the Suna ninja, who he figured to be the cause of the weird sand.

Right though he was, the Kage Bunshin were ineffective at best; the first attempting to sound out the other ninja's taijutsu by throwing a few basic punches, all of which were blocked by sand, before yet anther tendril burst from the ground at speed, impacting with the underside of it's jaw and dispelling it. The second attempted to attack from above with a vicious looking axe kick, but the tendril of sand was faster, forming it's tip into a razor sharp point and piercing the Bunshin's leg, instantly destroying it.

The original Naruto, having recovered from the earlier blow moved to confront the sand-wielding shinobi himself, but as he tried to move, he began to sink into the sand under his feet, the process speeding up as he began to struggle to free himself from the sand. In only a matter of seconds he'd been dragged waist deep into the ground, and could feel the sand compress and tighten around his legs, the pressure becoming more and more unbearable every second he was trapped. Glancing around he noticed Hana had let fly at the ninja with several of her kunai, but they were swatted away with ease.

She had admitted to Naruto and Shikamaru before their mission that without her partners, the dogs that most Inuzuka fought alongside, she was pretty useless in a straight up fight; and she had been brought along primarily as a medic.

The blonde wracked his mind for a way to free himself, he summoned more Kage Bunshin around him, but they were all destroyed as swiftly as the first. He couldn't move his arms to use jutsu, and his Bunshin had all been destroyed before they even had a chance to act.

"Gaara. That is enough. Release him."

Immediately, Naruto felt the pressure around his chest loosen, allowing him to take a breath he didn't realise he had been unable to take; and he noticed he was gradually rising out of the pit onto level ground. It was Baki, the Suna jonin they had rescued that was standing between himself and the one he had called Gaara.

"I cannot apologise enough for Gaara's behavior towards you ninja's, Kakashi-san, it is unacceptable." Naruto's eyes widened when he realised that Kakashi had, at some point arrived and placed himself between Gaara and Hana.

"I believe I understand the situation Baki-san, and your apology is accepted. Although, I would say that maybe I'm not the one it should be given to." Kakashi's single visible eye was bent upwards, indicating that he was smiling, but his right hand had never left the pouch that contained his kunai.

Baki himself glanced towards Naruto at Kakashi's implication, but he instead chose to turn to Gaara.

"Return home. Now. You will be dealt with later."

Gaara folded his arms, and began to turn away from the group, but stopped short of actually leaving the scene.

"In a months time... Konoha is hosting the Chunin exams." He turned his head and looked directly at Naruto, "And there, I will kill you." And with that, he walked away, leaving Naruto utterly speechless, for just about the first time in his life, if only for a few moments.

"Well, I can think of better ways to spend my first day in a foreign village..."

* * *

The rest of the Konoha ninja's stay had been quiet in comparison, the group staying one further night in order to ensure they were fully rested for their journey back to their own village. For Naruto, it seemed that any apprehension he felt about the threats made by Gaara the previous day were utterly overwhelmed by his excitement to be going home.

And it was true, he was looking forward to getting back to the village. His first mission had been a success, although much to his disappointment, he never managed to even get a glimpse of whatever weapon Baki had been carrying. But, as much as he was loathe to admit it, he was craving the amenities of home. Not only that, he wanted to get back into a proper training routine. Catching glimpses of Kakashi's fight with the two Iwa jonins had been eye-opening to say the least. He had a long way to go before he would be even close to that level, but rather than daunted, the idea excited Naruto. It was a challenge that he was relishing.

They left Sunagakure with very little fanfare, and immediately settled into a comfortable walking pace through the rocky, arid desert surrounding the village. Once again, the trio of Genin settled into a conversational rhythm, with Shikamaru carefully taking in everything said by the other two Genin, and Hana and Naruto excitedly swapping stories. Naruto spinning wildly exaggerated tales of his days as Konoha's most renowned prankster, and Hana responding with equally over the top stories of missions with her old team.

Much to Kakashi's pleasure, not that he'd ever admit it; Hana had seemingly taken a liking to Naruto, despite the fact that, unbeknownst to the blonde, she was well aware of the Kyuubi being sealed within him. More than almost anything else, the boy needed friends, and it finally looked like he was gathering some to him. Kakashi supposed, given his personality, it was almost totally inevitable that he would eventually force people to see past the Kyuubi.

However Kakashi's mind could not be kept away from more serious matters for very long. Gaara, the redhead who had attacked Naruto and Hana in Sunagakure had as good as promised to seek out Naruto and end his life during the Chunin exams in a months time. Amongst shinobi of course, this was a regular occurrence; however the status of Naruto and the other boy elevated this issue. Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but also almost totally inexperienced, and had not been a Genin for very long at all. If it hadn't been for the presence of both himself and Yuugao, whom had returned to the shadows, Naruto would never have been allowed to leave the village at all.

Gaara, was a different story. He had been a Genin for almost a year. Had taken a good number of C-rank missions, and also undertaken a B-rank - a sign of particular skill amongst Genin. And Kakashi had been assured his combat record was exemplary. If that was all, the Jonin probably wouldn't have been worried. However, Gaara also happened to be a Jinchuuriki, and reportedly was thoroughly unstable.

That, was reason for even a shinobi like Kakashi to worry. The fact that he had singled out Naruto, was extremely unnerving. The blonde didn't know it yet, but he had some serious work to do.

* * *

**I know, I know. Such a short chapter with a pretty abrupt ending. **

**Few quick things, my living situation has been making it very difficult to get any real work done. Lot's of moving about etc. Hopefully that will be resolved within the next few days, so I can return to some kind of normality. And also writing.**

**Secondly. The Apprentice. One of two other fics I'm working on. It's a work in progress still. Not abandoned or anything. But it's proving to be a bastard to write and I have no real substance to it's future plot yet. It's much harder to push forward in a post-war setting, as there's no existing plot framework to guide you as you write. So it's taking it's time, but more is coming, I promise.**

**Thirdly, I am working on a third story involving Yuugao and Naruto. I like Yuugao as a fan-fic character, because there's so little information about her. Lot's of room to invent. I plan to pretty much scrap the canon framework, too. It should be fun; and I hope, a good read.  
**

**So, once again, apologies for the shortness, and the sporadic updates. Unfortunately, there are in fact more important things than fan-fiction.  
**

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It goes a long way to motivating me to write. Thank you.  
**


	19. Naruto's Drive

_Chapter 19_

Sarutobi's mind was moving unbelievably fast, even though outwardly he remained as calm and serene as he sat behind his desk as he ever had been. He wasn't sure if he'd ever heard of a set of Genin's first mission outside of the village turn sour so very quickly, particularly with all of said Genin coming back alive. Quite how all three Genin had come back unscathed was still a mystery to him.

Yet here they were, having just finished briefing him on the C-rank mission they had just undertaken. Kakashi and his hastily erected, temporary team. First mission and they fight a pair of Jonin nuke-nin, with an outlandish, if nothing else, form of fuuinjutsu.

Much more worrying was the prospect of Akatsuki's involvement, and the idea that Jonin level shinobi from Iwagakure were already targeting Naruto; news that Kakashi had sent him in advance of their arrival. But that was another meeting for another time. Preferably one with Jiraiya present.

"Undoubtedly, you have all done extraordinarily well to come back unharmed, let alone with the mission fully accomplished." Sarutobi began, addressing the Genin more than he was Kakashi. "Any mission where you face enemies of the caliber that you faced, is automatically at least of an A-rank, and you will be credited and paid for one. You have all shown that you are going to grow into fine Konoha shinobi. You may each take a three day respite from active duty to recover. You are dismissed."

The three Genin nodded their thanks to the Hokage, and left the office, Naruto with a grin that would have put the Cheshire cat to shame.

However, Kakashi remained, his face as serious as it could be, with just the one eye showing.

"Just a brief thing, Sandaime-sama. Suna's jinchuuriki, the boy named Gaara. He and Naruto met. He's taken, shall we say, an interest, in Naruto. I'd like to recommend he be kept under a tight watch when he arrives in Konoha for the Chunin exams."

"He openly threatened Naruto?"

"Attacked him on the street. Promised to finish the job."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at that. It was common knowledge that Gaara was unstable, Suna almost never allow him to move around the village without an escort to prevent incidents.

"Thank you Kakashi, you are dismissed."

* * *

_The Next Day  
_

Naruto heaved himself off of the floor, having finished the final part of his morning warm-up, wiping his brow which had just started to sweat as the cool morning air was displaced by the warmer air of the day. It had occurred to the blonde the previous night during a meal at Ichiraku's, that since he had been given time off, he wouldn't be required to meet up with Jiraiya, which meant in turn, Jiraiya more than likely would make no effort to be there to train him.

Which meant that for the next three days, he would have to train himself if he wanted to get anything done, which at first left him at a loss with what to do with his time. He obviously had a lot he could work on, but deciding exactly what should hold priority was difficult to say the least. His first move had been to send a handful of Bunshin to the library, a place that Naruto was still blown away by it's potential usefulness. A few to scour the place for something that looked interesting, and another set to expand his knowledge on the basics. He had now totally nailed the entire Academy curriculum, and then some. He had a pretty sound knowledge of the continents geography, and a good overview of it's history, along with it's current politics. He knew basic chakra and ninjutsu theory, and had gone far beyond the call of duty in terms of strategy and battle tactics, thanks mostly to Kakashi's advice.

He had identified chakra theory as the next place to expand his knowledge in. He was incredibly eager to get to a point where creating his own ninjutsu was a possibility, and even more than that, Yuugao's words about the idea of 'chakra mastery' resonated deeply with him. He had yet another few clones in the library specifically for the purpose of building on his knowledge of chakra itself.

Which left the physical side of things. The fun stuff.

He could continue to work on integrating his Sansetsukon with his fighting style, both as a staff and in it's 'released' form. He had begun work on that during his mission to Suna, and when he had attempted to use his Sansetsukon against the statues, it had still been incredible awkward. Fortunately, Yuugao had apparently stopped by his house at some point, and left a scroll detailing the basics of the weapon. Grips, basic attacks, blocks, stances. All individual pieces Naruto could merge into his overall fighting style.

Which, at some point during is training with Yuugao, Naruto had realised would be the key to his style. Yuugao was trying to push him to take bits and pieces, little snapshots of other styles, and use them to construct a versatile style that had a response for every situation. The first moves he had learned with the woman were taken, mostly, straight from the Academy taijutsu forms. Basic blocks, punches and kicks. The bare essentials of any style, the foundations, if you will. From there, it was down to the blonde himself to build. If he felt he needed to work on his holds, and grappling, he could research styles that emphasised grappling, and pick the bits that suited him, the parts that matched his rhythm as he fought. It was an ingenious idea, and one that bolstered his already high levels of respect for the woman.

Taijutsu was of course, the next area he needed to work on. He had a set of core moves and stances, but they were the most basic of moves. And although with the help of his Bunshin he had the learned to a very good level, every shinobi to ever wear a headband was familiar with them. He needed to start to expand his knowledge, and working what he knew into a more defined way of fighting, a clear 'fighting philosophy'. He had a few scrolls, again provided by Yuugao that he had read through, and had selected parts of it that he believed work fit in with his way of fighting. Now all he needed to do was to learn them and see if it would work in practice.

Next up of course, was ninjutsu. In actual fact, ninjutsu was the area he was most happy with. For a rookie Genin, his range of ninjutsu was incredibly impressive - a testament to the usefulness of Kage Bunshin when learning ninjutsu. However, his control was an eternal sore point with the blonde. It needed refining, and that would in turn refine his ninjutsu. However the only exercise he knew was the ping pong ball technique he had learned from Iruka. On the surface that particular exercise looked incredibly difficult, but for someone with his amount of chakra, it actually wasn't. All you needed to do was learn how to expel a particular amount of chakra across an increasing surface area. It had been difficult at first, purely because his control was that bad in the first place, and he found it hard to maintain a constant level of chakra expulsion. Most shinobi could do it in their sleep. It looked like he was going to have to pay another visit to Iruka to see if he knew any more exercises.

That, was a hell of a lot to work on in three days.

Naruto grinned. Fortunately, thanks to a combination of the Kyuubi and the Forbidden scroll, Naruto was rarely short on time.

* * *

Shikamaru took in the looks on his the faces of Ino and Choji. Utter surprise. Choji had stopped eating the BBQ they had ordered. Ino's mouth was actually hanging open. He smirked at the blonde and raised his eyebrow accusingly.

"Catch any flies yet, Ino?"

Her mouth shut audibly, the sound somehow giving the Nara significant pleasure. If only she'd shut it more often, she'd be far less troublesome.

"Listen, all I'm saying is that we're shinobi now. The mission I was on, it- well, it went wrong. Me and Naruto were left well out of our depth, while Kakashi fought against two _Jonin."_

"How'd you make it out, Shika?" Choji had carried on eating, and asked mid mouthful, causing Ino to wrinkle her face up in disgust, the only thing preventing her from saying anything was the fact that Shikamaru was talking.

"Naruto." He fought back a smirk as their reactions mirrored exactly how they were a few moments ago. "I have to admit, even I didn't see it coming, but he's been working his ass off since the exam. He was like a whole knew person, guys. I learnt more about him in those three days then in the whole time we spent trying to figure the guy out in the Academy."

"That doesn't answer the question, though Shikamaru. As much as I wanna know about Naruto, God knows I've been trying to crack that particular puzzle for long enough, it still doesn't explain how you beat those statues." This time it was Ino who piped up, her own food, unlike Choji's, completely forgotten.

"It does, in a way. I told you he had worked his ass off, didn't I? Naruto fought them all pretty much by himself. His skills have gone through the roof. I was- well, I was near useless. I couldn't do a thing. He only took a hit when I got trapped and he rushed to come and save _my _ass. The medic on our team, Hana, was certain it should have been bad. And the guy jumps up like it was nothing when I was about to get flattened, to bail me out again."

"He's gotten that much better?" Ino sounded incredulous. And she had every right to be. They had on Genin teams for three full days when Shikamaru was summoned for the mission. By rights, he and Naruto should never have been on that mission. The fact that Naruto was now being trained by one of the most legendary ninja around in Konoha today would help explain that. But not even Jiraiya could get Naruto that good after three days. Which meant he'd done it by himself, in the month between the assignments and the exam.

"Well, that adds a whole other dimension to the puzzle." She grumbled under her breath, after seeing Shikamaru nod in confirmation.

"But Naruto isn't the main issue here, as troublesome as he is. It's the fact that someone I consider a friend had to put themselves at risk - risk their lives - because I wasn't strong enough to be useful in that fight. I don't want to be in that position again. I've been lazy about being a ninja, and because of it, Naruto nearly died trying to keep me alive."

"And take it from me, anyone else here would have been in the same position had they been there, and I know he would have done the same for any of you had it been any of you. I don't know about you guys, but I think we've been slacking off in our training, especially with Asuma, and he's been letting us get away with it so far. I say we find him, and let him know we want to take it up to the next level. What about you guys?"

Ino and Choji glanced at each other, before nodding their agreement at Shikamaru. They had learned to trust the Nara when he was serious about things over the years, and he was certainly serious now. Ino especially, would have been indignant at any hint she had been slacking, whether true or not, but she knew the look in Shikamaru's eyes. If he said they needed to step it up, then they did.

"I think I feel my ears burning... And what was that I heard about 'training'?" Their sensei's voice stopped any further conversation dead. They turned to face Asuma, who had just lit a cigarette, and placed it to his lips. "Glad to see you're ready to start getting serious about being a shinobi, the kid act was starting to get old. But, before we do anything, I want to show you all something. Follow me, I've already payed the bill."

The three Genin exchanged a curious glance, before moving to follow the Jonin out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Chakra control exercises?" Iruka scratched his chin in thought, even as he tried to hide his surprise at the question. It still surprised him quite how far Naruto had come in such a short space of time. A few months ago, he would have laughed in your face if you told him Naruto would be seeking him out looking for chakra control exercises rather than ninjutsu.

"Well, there are two that will be the most useful to you, as an active shinobi, and they are pretty much required learning for any shinobi." Naruto nodded eagerly in response, to that, his concentration totally focused on his old teacher. "The first, is called tree-walking. The idea behind it is simple, and very similar to how the ping-ping ball exercise works. You need to expel the right amount of chakra from your feet to stick you to a tree's trunk, on a constant basis. To master the exercise, will involve being able to walk, run and fight on the trunks and branches of trees."

Naruto nodded again. The premise made sense - to be able to fight on any vertical surface would require you to get your control to a point where one could maintain the chakra needed to stick without having to think about it or concentrate on it.

"The next is harder, as it requires you to constantly regulate the amount of chakra you expel. It's an exercise called water walking, and it is very much what it says on the tin, if you will. The idea is to once again channel chakra to the soles of your feet, except this time, you have to match and vary the amount of chakra used, to the flow of the water beneath your feet. Once again, you should finish being able to walk run and fight while doing this. They should both end up being instinctual to you. Does that help you, Naruto?"

"That's exactly what I was after! Thanks Iruka-sensei, I'll get started on them right away!" And with that, the blonde disappeared with a puff off smoke.

Iruka just shook his head and smiled, before turning back to the papers he had been marking.

* * *

"What the-" Ino's exclamation was cut short by way of Asuma placing his finger to his lips, indicating that she should be quiet.

The Jonin had led them well out of the center of the village, into the forested outskirts where the shinobi training grounds where. They were going to one they hadn't been before, and when Asuma indicated that they leave the path and take to the trees, the Genin had wondered exactly had been going on, and what the Jonin had to show them.

What had greeted them as they finally reached the training ground, and had stopped in the trees overlooking it, had stunned all but Ino and Asuma into silence.

"Just take everything in for now, I don't want to disturb him. Each part of what's going on. I want you to remember every single thing that's happening. It'll help me explain it to you." The Genin just nodded, in a confused, and shocked silence.

The sight that had greeted the trio, had been one of well over thirty Naruto's, all grouped up and performing different kinds of exercises and tasks. Some were working through what looked liked taijutsu kata, others where practicing with a weird staff split into three sections, while some where scrambling up and down trees without the use of hands. Others worked through hand seals, with different Naruto's firing out different jutsu, some a raiton jutsu, some a pair of fuuton jutsu, and others a katon jutsu that the Genin had actually seen Uchiha Sasuke use before.

"Are you ready to go?" Asked Asuma after a few minutes, and with he confirmation of the Genin, he led the way from the clearing, back towards their own training ground.

* * *

"So, Asuma-sensei, are you gonna explain to us why you took as to see Naruto train? Or, better yet, tell us exactly what he was doing with those Kage Bunshin of his?" It was Shikamaru, who asked the question, any hint of his usual lazy drawl replaced by an almost serious curiosity.

"I almost forgot you would have seen the Kage Bunshin before, Shikamaru. Well why don't you tell me what you know of their capabilities, and I'll start by filling in the blanks for you all."

"Well, I know the Kage Bunshin is an advanced clone technique - like a step up from the Bunshin - and that they are solid, so are able to fight like a normal person. They can also use the same jutsu as the creator as far as I could see, so must take some of the user's chakra. And I remem-" Shikamaru paused, and his eyes widened as he remembered Naruto using his Kage Bunshin as a recon tool. "They can transmit they're memories back to their creator. Which would also means they're independent and conscious, to an extent."

"That, is a very good analysis, Shikamaru. It is a very powerful, and also chakra intensive ninjutsu. Most shinobi below Jonin are unable it perform it at all because of how much chakra it uses."

"Hang on, if it's so dangerous, and uses so much chakra, how come Naruto can do it? And use so many? I mean he's just a Genin, like us." This time it was Ino who jumped in, unable to hold back the first of a great many questions brewing in her mind.

"He's not a Genin, like you, though." Asuma countered, once again reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. "Naruto has abnormally high chakra reserves. He has more than me, or any of the Jonin who took on graduating teams. In fact, there are only two or three Konoha shinobi I can think of who beat out Naruto for pure amounts of chakra, and one of them is the Sandaime."

"That," Shikamaru began, biting back the shock at Asuma's rather outlandish proclamation far better then the rest of Team 10. "Would explain why he found the Academy jutsu so hard, wouldn't it? If his reserves really are that big, trying to mold small enough amounts of chakra to do something like a regular Bunshin... Well, it's be really troublesome."

"I promise you, Shikamaru, that as Genin, particularly rookies; not one of you can begin to comprehend the amount of chakra Naruto actually has at his disposal. You all saw how many Kage Bunshin he had on the go, correct? Well, just to put things in perspective for you, if anyone in your class were to attempt just one, besides perhaps Sasuke, it would kill you. You quite simply don't have enough."

"But that's not really the point I'm trying to make." Asuma continued, not once taking his eyes away from the Genin that had sat themselves down in front of you. "Shikamaru, you were only half right when you said they transmit their memories. It's probably more accurate to say they transfer their experiences. Every thing a clone sees, Naruto sees. Everything they learn, Naruto learns. If a clone spent an hour practicing taijutsu, or studying or working on jutsu; then no matter what they actual Naruto had been doing, when that Bunshin dispels, it will be as if Naruto himself had done it."

The three were once again stunned into silence at the implications of what they were hearing, the potential of the Kage Bunshin was incredible.

"But Naruto had at least thirty clones in that field, possibly more! That means if he were to train for an hour with thirty, that would be like he had done thirty hours of training! And knowing Naruto... He'll have been there all day!"

"I can tell you he has been there since the early morning. His sensei asked me to keep an eye on him while he was out of the village. However, the ridiculous amount of chakra aside, there is another cost to the jutsu, one that is far more pressing to Naruto himself."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that. The chakra required for the jutsu was insane, if Asuma was being honest, and he knew full well that Naruto could throw out Kage Bunshin like cheap candy, which meant that compared to him, Naruto was absolutely overflowing with chakra.

"When I said that everything the clones experience is transferred to Naruto, I mean everything. Including fatigue. If he has five clones practice taijutsu for a day, he will feel like he's trained for five days straight when they dispel. Worse still, it hits you all at once, knocking all of the energy out like you've been punched in the gut. He has thirty clones in that field today, all doing intense physical activity. That is essentially, a months worth of training. And he _will_ feel like he's done just that at the end of it."

"That is the level of commitment Naruto has to his goal. I've met the kid, spent some time with him. I know enough to know he'll be out there again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that."

_His goal. _Shikamaru immediately thought of his regular proclamations that he would be Hokage, before he realised that since graduation, Naruto had never once made it in the same way that he had during the Academy. And that was when he remembered something else the blonde had told him.

_'I get what being Hokage really means. A Hokage has to be the best, not because they want people to care, to see them; but because they're the ones who have to protect everyone. Every ninja, every civilian - a Hokage has to be able to ready to fight for everyone, no matter what it takes. And, once I realised that, I realised that it's exactly what I want to do, too. Konoha is my home, and the home of those precious to me, and as cheesy as it sounds, I'll die before I let anyone hurt them, or it. But, as I am I'm not nearly strong enough to protect everyone the way I want to. So I've got to train as hard as I can, for as long as I can, until I am that person that can protect everyone. And I won't fail. I'll become Hokage, and I'll keep everyone safe.'_

Having seen what the blonde was putting himself through to achieve that aim, and having heard the conviction in his voice, Shikamaru was finding it ever harder to doubt that he would eventually achieve his goal.

"Then we'll just have to match that commitment, then, troublesome as it is."

"Shikamaru have you gone insane?!" Ino as good as shouted at that, forgetting herself momentarily. "You heard Asuma-sensei! There's no way we can do what Naruto is doing! Not a chance!"

"Yeah, that may be true. We're no stamina freaks, and we don't have his chakra or anything like that, you're right. We just can't keep up with a guy like that. But I told you before; he wouldn't think twice about putting his life on the line in a fight for any of us, and I guess if you're okay with just sitting back and letting him do that, then whatever. But I'm not. I'm not gonna be the guy that drags everybody else down, and has to have other people save them all the time. I'm not gonna be the guy who's friends die because he wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. That would b far more troublesome than all the training in the world."

The Genin couldn't see it, because they were too engrossed in their own thoughts and conversations, but Asuma was prouder than he'd ever been. His kids were figuring it out all by themselves, the entire reason why Konoha had been so strong over the years, why it produces powerful ninja after powerful ninja. The Will of Fire. That way of being that had mystified and eluded Asuma for much of his younger life. The very thing that Naruto wielded utterly instinctively, and had showed Shikamaru without realising he was doing anything unusual.

"I- You're right Shikamaru, I'm sorry." Ino's apology was genuine, and she was genuinely taken aback by the sincerity of Shikamaru's words. Something Naruto had said, or done really shaken the Nara up, and once again, Ino found herself curious about the blonde. Not only that, but Shikamaru, was as usual, totally right. "I don't want to be that person either." Words which were true, admittedly, but Ino knew she was easily the weakest of the three of them, and if any one was going to be 'that' person, it would be her.

"Me neither!" Choji chimed in happily. He had utter faith in Shikamaru's words, especially when he was in the kind of mood he was in now. Choji could see that something had changed with the Nara, and that it was probably for the good of all of them.

"Well that's good!" Asuma intervened, flicking the remains of his cigarette to the floor. "Because tomorrow, I plan to work you all into the ground."

Shikamaru blanched. Perhaps it wasn't too late to take it all back?

Asuma cracked his knuckles, a wide smile on his face. That was a no then.

Damn you Naruto. This was most definitely all his fault.

* * *

_The Following Day_

Naruto was trying incredibly hard to focus on his spar with his Kage Bunshin, rather than the fact that he had several other pairs of Bunshin close by, all sparring. Most of all though, he was trying not to think particularly hard about how this was all occurring _on water. _

It was currently mid-afternoon, and needless to say, he was pretty happy with his progress, considering he'd only really been at it for a day and a half. Tree walking had been a cinch, and had only taken him about an hour to get it right, followed by another hour or so of doing what he was now doing on water, for it to become instinctual.

His progress with his ninjutsu had been the most pleasing aspect of yesterday's training, however. He had decided to set some clones to work on increasing his speed with hand seals, and on trying to get some of his more basic jutsu to the point where he could perform them seal-less. Fuuton: Goukuuhou had been the first one he cracked. He couldn't explain it, the jutsu just felt natural to him, easier to perform. If he didn't know how rare a wind affinity was, he would have guessed that he was one. Unfortunately, ninja supply shops didn't stock testing paper regularly, so he had no way of finding out for sure. Raiton: Kaminari Muchi had followed closely behind, and Naruto was incredibly happy with that, even as his other Kage Bunshin continued to work on the rest of his ninjutsu.

What's more, he could feel his taijutsu coming together more and more every hour he worked on it. Every time he dispelled a set of clones, he could feel things getting a little tighter, a little smoother, a little less awkward, and it felt good. Working in more pieces was proving slightly more difficult however, and he was fast finding out what looked good in theory didn't always work in practice. Yuugao had left him with the basics for three different styles and he was having a lot of difficulty figuring out what he should be taking from them and what he shouldn't at a glance. It seemed to him that the only real way to tell would be to try it in a spar, which, even with his Kage Bunshin was proving time consuming.

"Hey, Naruto!" The blonde heard the familiar voice call out and turned face it, forgetting about the Kage Bunshin that had been chambering a kick at him; and was subsequently sent tumbling to the ground, as the kick made solid contact with his ribs. Well, tumbling to what would have been the ground, had he not been sparring _on water._

Soaking wet, and thoroughly embarrassed, Naruto swam to the shore, all too aware that the person who had called his names was in hysterics just a few feet away as he climbed out of the water.

"What's up, Hana?" For some reason, Naruto sounded less than enthusiastic that somebody had witnessed that particular episode, which made the Inuzuka girl laugh even harder. It was then Naruto noticed that she had three dogs with her, identical triplets, judging by the brilliant, snowy white coats the three shared. They all stood at knee height, and to Naruto looked closer to wolves than dogs, especially compared to Inuzuka Kiba's dog, Akumaru.

"Oh, nothing." The girl said, in between sniggers. "Just enjoying the show."

Even the dogs looked amused, as Naruto tried to squeeze out the plain black training shirt he had been wearing in place of his armour and normal shirt.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah - what are you really here for?" The blonde grumbled, all the while moving on to trying to shake out his hair.

"Well actually, Naruto, I was wondering if you wanted to spar with me and the Haimaru brothers? Thing is, I haven't really had any proper practice, or even a proper since I decided to become a medic-nin, because of how much time studying and learning medical ninjutsu takes. Seeing you fight on our mission reminded me exactly how out of practice I am. What do you say?"

Naruto got a good look at the girl standing in front of him. She'd come dressed in black shorts designed for easy movement and flexibility, and was wearing a green jacket, reminiscent of a Jonin flak jacket, that added extra protection. Her hair was tied tightly up and out of the way into a neat ponytail, so that it didn't impede her vision. Naruto could tell instantly that this wasn't going to be like sparring with Sakura, or even Ino; who as much as he liked them, especially Sakura, seemed to care more about their looks than any kind of shinobi training. Hana was every bit a proper kunoichi.

"I don't see why not - hang on." Naruto dispelled the Bunshin he already had out in sets of five, and tried his best to ignore the sharp pains in his head every time he did so, and was invaded by their memories. The fact that a slow, dull ache had begun to flare up in his calves didn't help in the slightest. He knew it was the fatigue kicking in, and tried not to worry about it too much as it tended to disappear after a quarter of an hour or so. "What are the rules?"

"Just keep it casual I guess, no bladed weapons and no serious jutsu sounds fine to me."

"Agreed." Naruto replied, stretching out his arms, trying to look as nonchalant as humanly possible. In truth, he was struggling to take his eyes away from the Haimaru brother furthest to the right. He couldn't get over how sharp it's teeth were, nor could he shake the feeling the bastard was grinning at him. Biting back a gulp, he turned his attention back to Hana. "Let's get this show on the road shall we?"

* * *

**Yes, I know Hai means grey, or ash. Yes, I know they are grey and white in the Narutoverse. I changed it. Bite me.**

**Anyways, nice little 'foundation' chapter. Lays the groundworks for some major diversions from canon abilities and stuff later on, mainly to do with the growth of some of teams. Suffice to say, I've got stuff in mind that will necessitate it. Naruto is going to be far, far closer to some more of the support characters than in Canon, which will hopefully bring them more into the picture.  
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**Next chapter - Toads!  
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**Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys! You're all ever so patient with me. I still have big plans for this fic. Believe me when I say it's going to be a looooooong one.  
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	20. Kuchiyose no Jutsu

_**CHAPTER UPDATE**:_ **After releasing this chapter, I got an anonymous review which criticized how I had Team 7 and Naruto, particularly Sakura, interact. He or she, the wonderful person they are, was totally right. I had been reading a few too many fics that overplay Sakura and Sasuke's negative points to an almost comical degree, and I allowed that to influence this story. So, subsequently, I've been backed and changed that scene just a tad; as well as make some minor grammatical corrections. **_  
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**So uhh, basically, enjoy!  
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* * *

_Chapter 20_

For the second day running Ino found herself sitting in a tree overlooking one of Konoha's many training grounds hidden amongst the forest that merged with the village at it's boundaries. Yesterday, it had been Asuma who brought herself, Shikamaru and Choji here, to get a glimpse of the ridiculous training regime that the blonde had been putting himself through. Ino hated to admit it, but the only other blonde in their graduating class put her to shame. Since graduation, she had barely even thought about training. As far as she had been concerned - she had made it. She was a ninja, and everything would just fall into place for her. But the news that Shikamaru had nearly been killed on his very first mission, and had only been saved because Naruto, the supposed dead-last, had been around to save him, had quickly put things in perspective for her. She was easily the weakest on her team, would that mean that had it been her, she would have died?

So she had agreed to train, to become stronger. She promised Asuma, and the rest of the team that she would give her all, and she had meant it. She, like Shikamaru, didn't want people to put their lives on the line for her, people to die because she wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. So this morning, she had turned up at her team's usual training ground, for what was to be their first ever real training session. And Asuma hadn't been kidding when he said he'd work them into the ground. He had said from the off that they needed, most of all, to work on their physical fitness. He said theirs was the weakest of all the Genin that had graduated, and was unacceptable for any ninja in the field. So, as a result, he had started by physically grinding them into dust.

Hours and hours of running, changing from sprints to jogs, to a run somewhere in between, had been the start of the hellish regime; followed closely by a series of push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, and some light sparring with some training weights. Asuma had kept them at it until lunch, giving them a half an hour break to eat and catch their breaths, before going at them all over again. This time, he created three of those Kage Bunshin that Naruto could do, and separated them all, and set about dissecting their fighting style's and abilities, picking apart their taijutsu with crushing efficiency.

Ino was bruised, aching and exhausted, but she wasn't done for the day, and wouldn't be, until she had satiated her curiosity. The subject of which, was now sparring with a strange Inuzuka girl below. They had kicked off with a brief taijutsu exchange, the Inuzuka girl rushing the blonde, and her dogs spreading out around to surround him, and proceeded to attack him in a series of hit and run attacks. The girl attacking, pulling back, followed by each of her dogs attacking from a different and in different patterns. Each attack was blocked or dodged, with what Ino had to admit was a decent level of skill. Naruto's taijutsu had admittedly come on leaps and bounds since he had been in the academy, and from what she could see, the blonde had already eclipsed her in skill by a fair distance.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a grin on the blonde's face, as two of the dogs came at him at once, one from either side. Without hand seals or announcement, two copies of the blonde burst into life, just as the dogs leapt into their respective attacks; and each received a solid kick to the jaw, sending them tumbling back the way they came. Hana, already on the move to follow up on the attack, was surprised enough to hesitate, and Naruto used the opportunity to press his advantage, and just like that, the roles were reversed. Naruto pressed the Inuzuka girl with a near-constant barrage of attacks, using Kage Bunshin to fend off the advances of the ninja dogs. Without the help of her canines Hana struggled to keep up with the clearly physically superior blonde, and eventually she made her mistake.

Seeing Naruto pull his arm back for a punch, she moved to block, and prepared her counter, totally unprepared for a leg sweep from a Kage Bunshin Naruto had created behind her. The leg sweep took her left leg out from under her and left her stumbling back, trying to keep her footing, but the original Naruto wasn't about to allow her the opportunity to regain her footing, and landed a solid kick to the centre of her rib cage, sending the girl sprawling backwards across the floor.

Ino couldn't help but be impressed as the girl climbed back to her feet. She had recognised the other Genin as Kiba's older sister, and the girl was clearly a fairly experienced Genin. Naruto however, appeared to be making her look like a rank amateur. Looking closely though, the girl appeared to still have a grin on her face, so Ino was forced to assume that she wasn't quite finished yet.

* * *

"You sure you're pulling your punches, Naruto? That one felt like I was getting hit by a boulder." Hana complained loudly, rubbing her ribcage with her hand, all the while never losing her animilistic grin.

"It's not my fault your such a wuss, I'm trying my best not to hurt you over here!" Naruto looked apologetic, despite the fact he sounded indignant.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. If you're not gonna go easy, Naruto, I'm gonna stop going easy on you!"

Naruto snorted at that. "Come on, as if you could beat me no matter how hard you tried. Let's see what you've got, I promise I won't hurt you."

The female Genin's grin grew even wider as she fromed a tiger seal with her hands.

"You asked for it, blondie. Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard the name of the jutsu. It was one of the clan ninjutsu that you could find in the Konoha library, as it was one used so often by the Inuzuka. The idea behind it was that it made it's user more beast-like, improving their reflexes, stamina and speed; and making them more animilistic in appearance, enlarging their claws and teeth. Hana crouched herself down on all fours as her slight transformation finished, and began her attacks anew.

The blonde had expected an increase in speed, but Hana flew at him at a speed he could only just follow, not giving him time to react, as the aimed a clawed swipe at his face, scratching across his cheeks and drawing blood. Shocked into action, Naruto span to face her incoming attack, ducking under her swipe as she leapt at him in a way her ninja dogs were as they battled a pair of his Kage Bunshin. He leveled a punch at her chest as she flew over him, and she twisted in the air to avoid, attempting to lash out with her trailing leg. Blocking, with his remaining arm, he leapt back as Hana turned to face and attack once more, flying at him clawed hands outstretched.

She was still moving too fast for him, and it was only through sheer instinct that Naruto brought his arm up to block her slash once more, receiving another large set of cuts across his arm. This time, he was unprepared for the follow up kick, and it made solid contact with his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Two Kage Bunshin formed either side of him, preventing Hana from pressing her advantage, one being dispelled almost instantly form blocking rather than avoiding another clawed attack, the other sidestepping the slash that followed, and lashing out with a fist, only to meet air, as Hana moved her head just enough to avoid the attack, and countered with a dual strike to the clones face and chest, destroying it.

Naruto had regained his footing, but once again Hana was flying at him. This time, though, he was prepared. '_Her attack are in a set pattern. Slash, followed by a kick. She's not as advanced as she should be with her taijutsu in that form, she's fast, but predictable.' _He began his ducking movement before she even pulled her claws back for the attack, and by the time she had, it was too late. Naruto rolled under her, low enough to avoid the slash as well as the follow up kick, Hana unable to extend her leg far enough in mid-air to reach him.

Naruto however, was not finished. Lightning crackled around his wrist as he turned, and sent his Raiton: Kaminari Muchi at her, gripping her ankle and yanking her back towards him, the change in direction disorientating her so much that she couldn't react. He brought out his arm, and caught her, rather than attack, pushing her to the ground and pinning her there, producing a kunai as a signal that if he wished, he could kill her.

"Give up?" The blonde asked, grinning ever so slightly as Hana attempted to get her bearings.

Hana grumbled something under her breath, and Naruto eased the pressure on the girl, getting to his feet, and allowing Hana to do the same.

"Holy shit, I knew I was out of practice, but either you're pretty good, or I'm worse than I thought." Naruto looked momentarily taken aback by her compliment, and although that morphed into a thoroughly embarrassed expression, the look momentarily piqued the girls interest. He had beaten her fair and square, and it was hardly a compliment strong enough to warrant a reaction like that.

Little did she know, another blonde not far away, echoed those sentiments exactly. Ino's thoughts were however, combined with the thought that she couldn't think of a time when somebody else had praised Naruto like that. In fact, she couldn't think of a single time where any one had ever said anything nice to Naruto _ever_, before she and her team had complimented his new outfit.

"What can I say, I've trained really hard since I graduated. I'm still nowhere as strong as I need to be, if I want to be Hokage." Hana laughed at that. He had mentioned hiss dream to be Hokage a few times on their mission, although Hana got the distinct impression he was making a serious effort to reduce the enthusiasm that he expressed it with.

"You know, you never explained that one to me, Naruto. Why _do_ you want to be Hokage?" Naruto's grin morphed into a soft smile, as he took a seat against one of the trees and indicated for the Inuzuka to do the same.

"Well, when I was younger, I wanted to become Hokage because I wanted recognition from the village. You probably already know I was an orphan, and I live alone; so I used to be lonely, almost all the time, especially since I was never all that popular with the village 'cos of my pranks and stuff. I saw being Hokage as the best way to get attention, and to get people to like me."

Hana of course, already knew Naruto was an orphan. Not only that, but unbeknownst to the blonde in front of her, she knew exactly why he was so unpopular in the village Having been three when the Kyuubi attacked, she remembered enough of the immediate aftermath of the attack, to have to be told exactly what was going on to avoid any dangerous situations, such as her blurting out things that she had heard.

Hana had been raised by her Mother to not trust hear say and popular opinion, and use her own judgement where possible, instead of the judgement of others. And she had put that into practice with Naruto, and realised very quickly, he was not under the influence of any demon, as far as she could tell. The only thing stopping her from speaking her mind to Naruto at this point in time, was the smell of another person, just outside the clearing, who had been watching them for some time.

"But then, I learnt what it really meant to be Hokage. You have to be willing to put your life on the line for the village, ready to die for it, and everyone in it. And I decided that I want to be that. I want to be able to protect this village, and the people I hold precious inside it, even if I have to die to do it."

Hana smiled at the blonde. He didn't know it, but his mentality was very similar to that of her clan. Their clan was a 'pack', and they would put their lives on the line to support one another, and to keep the pack safe, and strong. But it also worked on a larger scale. The Inuzuka considered themselves to be one entity in a much larger pack, Konoha itself, and as they entity, they all fought to protect their 'pack'. It was the main reason the Inuzuka had flourished in the way that they had in Konoha. Their mentality was one that matched with the Shodai's, and the mentality of those that followed him.

"Well, the Inuzuka believe that true strength comes from fighting for your 'pack'. From what I can see, that's how you see Konoha, like it's your pack. If you keep thinking like that, even if you never become Hokage, I think you'll get to be as strong as you need to be to protect the village like you want." Hana stood up, and stretched her arms, indicating that the Haimaru brothers, who had all set themselves down around her, should do the same. "Anyways, thanks for the spar, Naruto. We should definitely train together sometime, apparently, I need to get myself back into shape!" Naruto laughed at that, rubbing the back of his head, a wide smile on his face.

"I'd like that Hana, although, you nearly kicked my ass back there! I'm gonna need to train even harder by the looks of things."

Ino watched the girl leave, and Naruto summon another set of Kage Bunshin to resume their sparring on the water. She was still surprised by the sincerity of Naruto's words before. He would die to protect the village. He had seemed daunted by that idea, yet, he also seemed to understand fully what that meant. It brought to mind something that her father had told her, many years ago, after she had listened to Iruka give a lecture on the Yondaime Hokage.

_"Daddy, what made the Yondaime so strong?" Ino asked, in between mouthfuls of her dinner. In truth, she didn't at all understand how one man could defeat hundreds in battle, how one man could be strong enough to face down a demon - and win._

_"Well, many people would say it's because he was a genius, and knew incredibly powerful jutsu. But I knew the man, he was in my class at the academy, and I fought alongside him more than once. He was no prodigy or genius. But he did work incredibly hard at his skills. He was always improving, always getting better, no matter how hard he found it. But that wasn't the reason he was so strong, either."  
_

_Ino looked incredulous at that. "Well then," she demanded impatiently, only not banging her knives and forks on the table as she knew she'd be scolded for it, and not get the answers she wanted. "What was it?!"  
_

_"The Will of Fire. The same thing that made the Shodai so strong, and the Nidaime; the same thing that makes the Sandaime so strong now, and the reason this village continues to stand no matter what."  
_

_"...Huh?" Was Ino's ever so intelligent response, causing her Inoichi, her father to laugh boisterously at his daughters expense.  
_

_"The Will of Fire," Inoichi began, composing himself before continuing. "Is what the Sandaime calls the determination of the shinobi of this village to fight and protect their homes, and their comrades. In Konoha, we value our comrades and loved ones above all else, and we fight to protect them. That, is what gives us our strength. The Yondaime's Will of Fire was like nothing I had ever seen, and likely will ever see in my life. When the village, or anyone from it was in danger, the Yondaime would stop at nothing to save them. The thing that made the Yondaime strong, was that when what he cared about was threatened, his determination to save them, outweighed every other factor that came in to play. No matter the enemy, no matter the odds, he would succeed, even if it killed him."  
_

Ino could see it now. She finally understood what her father had meant. Seeing Naruto train now, and hearing how he had fought to save Shikamaru drove it home with hammer-blow efficiency. What it was that the Yondaime had, Naruto also had - in spades.

* * *

_Two Days Later_

Naruto got started once again on his early morning warm-up, racing through a series of basic exercises and a jog, as he waited for Jiraiya to show. The old pervert was due back today, and was already half an hour late, which by itself was nothing unusual from his experience with the man. Today though, Naruto was particularly antsy to get started. The Sannin undoubtedly knew what he was doing, and from the few days he had been his apprentice officially, Naruto had walked away tactically sharper, with countless tweaks and ideas for his taijutsu, and a handful of ninjutsu.

"Come oooon, where is that stupid pervert?!" Naruto groaned to himself as he finished his run, the final part of his warm up.

"Pervert you say? I'm no pervert, gaki. I'm a _super_ pervert!" Naruto's gaze shot up to where the voice had come from, a vantage point overlooking the training ground he was using.

"Ero-Sennin!" Naruto didn't miss Jiraiya's eye twitch at the nickname, which made Naruto's grin from seeing the Sannin grow even wider.

"You miss the Great Jiraiya, gaki? More importantly, I hear that my oh so precious apprentice has already started his very own list of 'powerful enemies out to kill him'. On his first mission too! Your Father _would _be proud."

"You heard about Gaara?" Naruto asked, unable to keep the surprise out f his voice.

"Of course! They don't call me the spymaster of Konoha for nothing, gaki. Besides, it's a bit hard not to find out when your jinchuuriki apprentice goes and picks a fight with Suna's very own Gaara of the Sand, jinchuuriki of the Ichibi."

That particular piece of information stunned the blonde into silence. Another jinchuuriki? He knew of course, that logically there would have to be more. He had read up on jinchuuriki, unsurprisingly given his own status, and knew they were used to maintain some manner of 'balance of power' between the shinobi villages. Therefore, there had to be at least five other jinchuuriki - one for each of the major shinobi villages. But for there to be one his own age? And to be quite so much better than him? It was unexpected to say the least.

"Unfortunately, Naruto; that presents us with a problem." Jiraiya spoke once more, his voice and expression serious now, as he leapt down from his perch and joined the blonde.

"You mean other than the bloodthirsty Genin, who now apparently is also a jinchuuriki, and is coming here with the intent to bury me in about ten foot of sand." The Sannin simply rolled his eyes at the blonde's quip, and pressed on.

"Gaara, from what I can tell, was not sealed by a master of the art. The beast can directly influence him, and as a result, he's massively unstable. Now, I don't have to check up on things with my network until after the Chunin exams at least; which means I'll be on hand in most situations. However, I had sort of been planning to enter you in the exams." Naruto predictably, shot up at that.

"I thought you had to enter those in teams?"

"Traditionally, you do yes. And I'm having Sarutobi-sensei look into a team for you anyway. But actually, there are no rules stopping you participating as a pair, or indeed individually. This is the crux of the problem though. There are parts of the exam where I'm not going to be on hand to dive in if you're attacked by a bloodthirsty sand-demon, if you catch my drift."

"So, I have to train then - at least enough to be able to get myself out alive if he does come for me in the exam?"

"Or, you could not enter. Leave it for the next time around?" Jiraiya put forward the suggestion, even though he already knew the response.

"Not an option. For a start, this is the next step towards becoming Hokage. If I backed down the second things got tough, I may as well give up on the title forever, 'cos I wouldn't be fit for it. Secondly, there'll be other Konoha genin in the exams right. I'll bet any money at least a few of the rookie teams will enter. There's now way I could sit out knowing that Gaara's out there with them. Not a chance. If he's busy with me, he won't be able to do any damage to anyone else."

Naruto paused for a moment, before standing up and readjusting his body armour, and looked the Sannin straight in the eye.

"So, what's the plan for the next month?"

Jiraiya grinned, and bit his thumb, drawing blood; before racing through a series of hand seals that Naruto didn't recognise.

"I was hoping you'd ask me that. Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Jiraiya finished his hand seals and slammed his palm on the ground, causing a large explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, Jiraiya stood on the head of a large toad. It was a deep red colour, and had jet black tribal markings across the top half of it's body, causing it's bright yellow eyes to stand out even more. But Naruto failed to take any of this in. The boys eyes had narrowed in on what the giant toad held in it's mouth, a scroll, similar to that which Jiraiya carried on his back.

"You're going to let me sign the toad contract?" The blonde asked quietly, disbelief evident in his voice.

"Well, you _are_ my apprentice. Not only that, but the only other person to sign it in my life time was your father. It's practically your birthright Naruto. Consider it the first part of your Inheritance."

The toad extended it's tongue, which was wrapped around the contract, towards Naruto, laying the scroll gently at his feet. The blonde bent down, and carefully unwound the scroll to the most recent entries.

_'Namikaze Minato'_

He only allowed his eyes to linger on his Father's name for a few moments, before shifting his gaze to the freshest blank spot on the contract. He bit his own thumb, knowing already that the contract had to be signed in blood; and wrote his own name with the bloodied thumb, before dabbing the rest of his fingers with blood and leaving a print, as the others before him had.

Jiraiya leant over and picked up the contract when he'd finished, and presented it back to the toad, who took it in his tongue, and giving Jiraiya a small nod, disappeared back to his realm in a puff of smoke.

"Now, Naruto, I'll show the seals slowly a few times, and we'll get to learning more about the toads once you've given the jutsu a few tries." Jiraiya began moving through the seals slowly, and Naruto paid keen attention, making sure he remembered the exact pattern. "You have to remember that summoning also requires a small blood sacrifice for it to work. It's because of the fuuinjutsu required to, essentially, teleport the toads to your location"

The blonde nodded slowly, before biting his own thumb, and beginning the sequence of hand seals himself. He tried to mold a good amount of chakra to match the jutsu, ever so slightly wary of overloading what was essentially, a ninjutsu that manipulated space and time. The little he had read about the topic indicated that ninja who messed with those particular forces tended to end up dead.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

The puff of smoke was far smaller than Jiraiya's, and Naruto instantly knew that the first toad he had summoned would not exactly be what they'd call 'battle ready'.

"Yo, you must be the new summoner, right? Name's Gamakichi, good to meet ya."

Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the small, bright orange toad, the had just waved a greeting at him. Definitely not battle ready.

"Gamakichi? I haven't see you since you were a tadpole, how's you're Bunta doing?" Jiraiya asked, grin plastered on his face. His apprentice was obviously a bit disappointed with his effort. What he didn't know, was that he'd just summoned the son of the boss toad, Gamabunta; which actually would have taken a particularly good effort for someone brand new to the jutsu. For now, he'd just enjoy Naruto's displeasure.

"Jiraiya... Well, I wouldn't summon him for a while if I were you. I don't know what you did old man, but you sure pissed Dad off." The summon returned his focus to the blonde that had summoned him. "Well, what's your name, kid. And more importantly, d'you have any sweets?" Once again the young toad left Naruto struggling for words, though he eventually composed himself enough.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you Gamakichi." He rubbed his chin before continuing. "And I don't have any sweets. But I tell you what, once I know how to summon you specifically, I'll call you back and get you some, okay?"

"You're not so bad, blondie! I guess I should head back, though, and tell Dad what's going on. See ya later!"

And with that, the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto, try again, with a bit more chakra."

The blonde nodded, and flashed through the hand seals again, slamming his palm to the ground.

"Hi! I'm Gamatatsu! ...Are there any snacks here?"

Naruto sighed, much to Jiraiya's amusement. For some reason, the blonde just knew this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Naruto tore up yet another weed with particular venom, angrily stuffing it into a bag, that was rapidly filling.

He had tried, really, really hard to be civil. He tried being polite, and nice. I mean, as polite and nice as you can be to a human being who communicates almost entirely though a combination of different grunts, and refuses to even acknowledge that you exist. Actually, that's not true. The brooding prodigy that was Uchiha Sasuke, had shown considerable interest when Naruto had used the Kage Bunshin to try and speed up the job - an idea which Kakashi had stopped in it's infancy. Something about making it too easy.

Sakura was every bit as beautiful to him as he remembered. A thought soon tempered with the fact that she ignored him, and almost anyone else for that matter, in exchange for trying to catch Sasuke's attention in some way. The only time he'd gotten a word out of her at all was when she complained that he'd be on the mission at all, and when he tried to ask her, as a matter or politeness really, how she was enjoying being a ninja. She had just told him to go away.

Sai on the other hand, was just weird. I mean, he was annoying in his own way, of course. Naruto had nearly tried to break his nose the first time he had called him gay, but Naruto let it slide, when he noticed there wasn't any kind of malice in Sai's words. He did however, make Naruto uncomfortable. There was something off about him, and Naruto couldn't put his finger on what it was. He just knew it was familiar to him, like he'd experienced it before somewhere.

In short, the blonde had endured a thoroughly miserable afternoon, performing today's D-rank with Team 7; and had spent most of it wishing he was on one with Team 10 instead, or could at least be practicing the thrice-damned Kuchiyose no jutsu. The blonde had spent all afternoon, essentially, summoning Gamakichi and Gamatatsu over and over again, much to the annoyance of both him, and the toads. That said, he had formed the basis of a friendship with the pair, albeit one based on food. Still, Naruto could live with that. They were both nice enough, and Jiraiya was pretty adamant that once Gamakichi was a bit bigger, he'd be one hell of a toad to be able to summon on demand. Still, he really wanted to summon a toad he could use now, to help him in the exams, and the sooner he could nail that, the sooner he could balance out his training again.

"I think you guys are just about done for today." Kakashi said, from his vantage point - the bench in the garden they'd been working in, where he'd spent the last few hours reading and watching the four of them work. "Team 7 can head home, you're done for today. Me and Naruto will go and hand in the mission."

With that, the three members of Team 7 took off, only Sai giving a cursory wave to the blonde and the Jonin as they went.

"Assholes." Naruto grumbled under his breath, only half hoping the Jonin hadn't heard him.

"I can only really apologise on behalf of my team, Naruto. I'm not really sure exactly what I need to do to deal with them at the moment." Naruto waved off the Jonin's apology, with a casual wave of his arm.

"Not exactly your fault Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke's always been a total bastard, and Sakura's been like that since she met Sasuke. I'm used to it at this point, really."

"Still, I'd like to make up for it." Kakashi said, his single eye indicating that he was smiling beneath the mask that covered his face. "I owe you a jutsu anyways, don't I?"

Naruto grinned and caught the scroll that Kakashi threw his way with practiced ease, and read it's label.

"_Bunshin Daibakuha_? Now _that_ sounds like my kind of jutsu. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

"Like I said, I owed you. Now then, let's go see the Hokage so I can get back to my book... I was just getting to the good bit."

* * *

_The Next Day_

Naruto was officially done being cautious with this bastard jutsu. If it wanted to suck him backwards into a inter-dimensional black hole (Naruto would be the first to admit he still read too much manga that what was likely good for him), the so be it. He was going to summon a bigger toad, or he was going to die trying, dammit. Gathering more chakra than he had ever really tried to before, a feat he was aware was only possible because of his work on his chakra control; he bit his thumb, and raced through the hand seals that he had gotten to know incredibly well over the last day and a half.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The puff of smoke nearly totally engulfed the blonde, and he struggled to keep his balance as he felt himself be lifted up off the ground by at least his own height.

**"So, the new summoner has finally decided to stop bothering poor Gamakichi! Pleased to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto, I am Gamasensō, the Shaolin toad of Mount Myoboku."**

* * *

**A new (semi) original Toad! Gamasensō isn't totally original, as the toad can be found on the cover of Vol. 13 of the manga, and Kishi claims he is a Shaolin using toad. Less happened in this chapter than I expected, but it's not a big deal. I plan to have Naruto mainly use two toads for what will essentially be my 'Part 1', one of which being Gamasensō. They won't be massively strong, not overpowered at least, but they'll be a big help in some of the fights and situations coming. My Part 1, I can tell you now, extends a fair ways beyond the Chunin exams.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. Some of the reviews have been unbelievably flattering, and it's fantastic to get such positive feedback. Needless to say, I've got a bit of a fire in my belly for writing at the moment, so you can expect movement on all three of my fics sometime this week.**

**Also, any suggestions for Naruto's team in the exams are more than welcome. I'm sort of struggling for a third member at the moment, as I don't want to have to create an OC just for the exams.**

**Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu: **Improves the speed, reflexes and senses of the user. It also causes the user to become more animilistic in nature and appearance, growing claws and elongated canines. An Inuzuka clan technique.

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: **A jutsu that summons a creature to help the user fight. A contract must be signed with the creature's in question, however, before the jutsu can be used.

**Bunshin Daibakuha: **A variation of the Kage Bunshin, where the user can make the Bunshin explode to cause large amounts of damage.


	21. The Toads of Mt Myōboku

**Right. Essentially, I'm here to apologise. Initially, this chapter was published with a rant aimed at certain reviews that I wrote an incredibly reactionary response to. It was written whilst I was dealing with a lot of issues in that real life thing, and was pretty stressed out. It was over the top, unintentionally ambiguous, frustrated and actually downright pretty rude. It appeared to be aimed at a large amount of reviewers, when in fact it was only really in response to one or two people. And for that, I absolutely can't apologise enough. For the most part, you guys are worth your weight in gold; your reviews are either incredibly supportive or encouraging, or they point out mistakes or criticise in a reasonable way, that allows me to fix up my story so that it's better then it ever would have been without your input.  
**

**Once again, I'm sorry for any offence caused. It most certainly wasn't intentional.  
**

**So, uh, hows about that story then?  
**

* * *

_Chapter 21  
_

_The Toads of Mt. Myōboku  
_

* * *

Naruto, having leapt from the toad's back, turned around to get a good look at the creature he had summoned. It stood around six foot tall or so, by his estimation, and was easily big enough for the blonde's relatively small frame to stand on, though he imagined it would make it rather difficult for the toad to move around a battlefield with any kind of ease. However, it's size wasn't it's most striking feature. The very first thing that caught Naruto's eyes, and indeed the thing that still held his attention - it's colour. The toad's entire upper half was one of the most magnificent looking shades of regal blue that Naruto had ever laid eyes upon. The toad's claim of being a 'shaolin toad' were seemingly verified by the fact that it also wore an orange gi, just a touch darker than his own old jumpsuit; and had it's wrists tied with tape - a sure sign of a taijutsu practitioner.

**"Got enough of an eyeful, yet? Or are you just gonna stand there gawping, rather than introduce yourself?"**

Naruto's hand instinctively went to the back of his head, and he sheepishly smiled back the toad he'd summoned.

"Heh, I'm really sorry Gamasensō. After summoning Gamakichi so often, I don't think I really expected to summon a toad quite so... impressive. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I guess we should probably get to know each other a little bit so we can work together in battle - that is, if you don't mind me summoning you to help out every now and then?"

The toad grinned at his question, seemingly pleased that the blonde summoner before him respected him enough to ask, rather than expect, his assistance.

**"As a toad of Mt. My****ō**b**o**ku, it would be my pleasure to fight alongside the student of Jiraiya; all though it would probably be wise for me to point out that I am quite a young toad, only just entering maturity, so to speak. It's quite likely that a great many of the larger and more powerful toads will not exactly be so willing, at least not straight away."

"So I'd need to prove myself or something before they'd fight with me?"

**"I suppose you could say that." **The toad nodded, scratching his chin thoughtfully, something Naruto wasn't sure should even be possible.

**"But you should be aware that some will simply outright refuse to help. Gamabunta, the Boss Toad, for example, is both the strongest of all of us, and also the most notorious for outright refusing to aid summoners. Even Jiraiya struggles to convince him to fight alongside him. But as for getting to know** **each other..."** Gamasensō grinned, looking directly into Naruto's eyes.

**"I believe strongly that a spar can tell you everything you need to know about a person - If you think you can handle it, that is."**

"You know Gamasensō..." Naruto began, flexing his limbs trying to get himself somewhat limbered up for a spar. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

* * *

"So, thanks to Kakashi, we know Suna are mobilizing, and according to Jiraiya's sources Orochimaru's forces have gone underground in recent months. All conveniently timed with the Chunin exams held within our walls, at which Sound plans to send their very first team? I agree that this seems far too much of a coincidence to be ignored. The biggest question is: what's the overall objective here? I don't believe that even Suna and Sound combined have enough force to pull off an attack that ends in anything other than a victory for Konoha." The Sandaime brought his pipe up to his mouth as he finished speaking, turning his attention to the other two people in the room, Jiraiya, and arguably his most trusted Jonin, Hatake Kakashi.

"Well, given that it's Orochimaru pulling the strings here, it's likely that we are supposed to believe a successful invasion is the aim. But he's too clever for that, this is a diversion, with the bonus of doing a lot of infrastructural damage to the village, and possibly taking out one or more of our best along the way."

"He intends to make a move on Hokage-sama, then?" Kakashi queried, vocalising the implication of Jiraiya's words.

"It's likely. Sarutobi-sensei over here is one of the few people left in the village that is capable of giving him pause for thought. Although, it's too obvious to be his main aim, and if it was just Sensei's head he wanted, he'd likely just come for it himself, rather than go to all this trouble. He's after something more. We only know what we know because he's allowed it, I'm sure of that. He's intending us to focus on the defense of the village and protecting Sarutobi-sensei, at the expense of something less important to Konoha."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The Sandaime's intervention took both Jiraiya and Kakashi by surprise, though Jiraiya considerably less so.

"You think he's finished _that_ jutsu, Sarutobi-sensei?" Jiraiya asked, his face set into a frown that looked surprisingly natural for a man so normally irreverent.

"I wouldn't put it past him. If he has, acquiring Sasuke would likely take him to a level beyond what I, possibly even you Jiraiya, is able to defeat without great cost. What's more worrying is that the Chunin exam is a ideal opportunity for Orochimaru to accomplish that. He will be totally unsupervised for the second test, should he make it that far, and possible days inside Training Ground 44. It would be almost impossible to keep Sasuke from him without infringing upon the rules of the exam, which would be a political nightmare with so many villages attending this our exams."

"I don't entirely understand why Orochimaru would place so much importance in Sasuke, though it's clearly to do with his Sharingan, and I'm going to need a proper explanation later. But what is really confusing me, is why not just take him while out on a mission? I certainly couldn't stop him, though I'd be willing to die trying." The masked Jonin asked, trying to make sense of what the two older shinobi were saying.

"That's not the way he works. For a start, as far as I know at least, my old team-mate needs to mark Sasuke with a unique fuuinjutsu in order to accomplish what he needs, but that's not all. Sasuke needs to actually come to him of his own volition - sell his soul, if you like. The mark is only the first stage of that, it feeds of your negative emotions, your doubts; whispers in your ear about power, and darkness, and amplifies your own insecurities."

"Next Orochimaru needs to indicate to Sasuke that the power he craves is out of his reach for as long as he stays in Konoha. That's where the invasion, and sneaking into the exams to get to Sasuke comes in. He displays his own power by severely wounding the village, highlight our weakness, and essentially offers Sasuke a slice, all the while preying on the boys doubts and fears. It's a pretty sound plan, if I'm honest. He's a bastard, but he's good."

Kakashi took a few moments to process Jiraiya's explanation. There was no way Sasuke could stand up to that kind of mind game. He already craved strength more than anyone his age should, perhaps even more than Naruto did. Except that the Uchiha's motivation was revenge. Revenge against the man who killed his entire clan, Sasuke's family. Revenge against his own brother.

If something couldn't be done; Sasuke wouldn't fall victim to the hunter, he'd walk willingly into his jaws.

"So what exactly can we do to stop this?" Kakashi asked, not even realising that he had allowed his carefully maintained facade of casual indifference to be replaced with obvious intense worry for his student.

"That, kid, is a question I don't have an answer to, at least not yet. Still, we have a month to prepare. We'll think of something."

Kakashi failed to find any solace in the Sannin's answer.

* * *

Naruto ducked under a punch aimed at his head, and immediately had to jump back to avoid a horizontal follow up blow; however, he was immediately set upon by Gamasensō, who had used his powerful hind legs to immediately press the blonde, not giving him time to recover. He moved at speeds that Naruto previously would have said were impossible for such a bulky creature. He was perfectly balanced on his hind legs, and the attacks from his hands flowed perfectly from one to the next, giving Naruto absolutely no time to compose himself or even think.

Worse still, the toad didn't even appear to be straining to push Naruto as far as he was. He raised his arms for a cross block as Gamasensō brought down one of his fists for a hammer blow to Naruto's shoulder, and only just managed to roll sideways in time to avoid the next attack. Block, dodge, block, block, dodge. He desperately tried to find some kind of rhythm as he defended himself on sheer instinct, but failed each time.

Two Kage Bunshin sprung into life behind the toad, one to his left, the other the right, but Gamasensō appeared infuriatingly un-phased. Once again doing what would appear to be anatomically impossible, he shifted all his weight onto one leg and leaping into the air, he launched into a violent sweep, destroying both Bunshin with practiced ease. Touching down onto the leg he had used to kick out at the Bunshin, he used his natural agility to spring himself at Naruto, who had attempted to create some distance between the two.

They began their previous game once again, this time with Naruto using his clones to try and unbalance and find openings on the toad, to no avail. Gamasensō possessed grace and flexibility beyond any of Naruto's wildest expectations. However, much to Naruto's pleasure, the toad had lost that image of effortlessness since the arrival of his Kage Bunshin. The toad was pushing Naruto much more than he was being pushed of course, but no longer was he finding it easy to do so. The blonde was even more pleased that ignoring his clones, the toad hadn't actually landed a hit on him. Of course, Naruto hadn't either, but such insignificant details were easily ignored by the blonde.

Suddenly, without warning, the toad leapt back from their melee, indicating a pause.

**"I believe you were right to predict that we would get along, Uzumaki Naruto. I think I would very much enjoy fighting alongside you."**

Naruto inclined his head slightly at the implied compliment, pleased that he had made a positive impression on his newest comrade.

"You're incredible at taijutsu, Gamasensō. I would be delighted to be able to call someone as skilled as you a comrade, or even friend." The blond replied, doing his utmost to sound as polite and respectful as possible. The toad had made a strong impression on him, both with his skill, and his acceptance of Naruto's own ability, and Naruto wasn't about to let that go without repayment. Gamasensō too, it seemed, understood that a mutual respect had formed between them, and at the very least, the seeds of a friendship had been laid.

**"If you would agree to summon me for a spar on occasion, then I can see us becoming fast friends, Uzumaki Naruto. Not many toads practice hand to hand combat, at least in the manner I do, and it gets terribly terribly tiring practicing against the same opponents."**

"I think I can do that, it would be really great to be able to spar against someone as good as you are." Naruto replied, with an incredibly earnest grin on his face.

**"Excellent! I shall look forward to our next meeting. However, for now, I must return home. Until next time, Uzumaki Naruto."**

And with that, the toad disappeared, apparently returning to it's own realm, leaving only a small cloud of smoke, as the chakra that bound it to this realm a few moments, the blonde let out a breath he didn't even realise he had been holding. The meeting with his first 'combat-ready' toad had gone far better than he had expected it to, though he'd apparently gotten lucky by summoning one of the more reasonable toads. Most importantly, they had gotten along fairly well, and had a pretty good measure of what the other could do. The toad was powerful. Fast enough to keep up with his Kage Bunshin taijutsu without too much effort, and strong enough that Naruto could still feel where he had blocked the toad's attacks, even though it had been holding back due to the friendly nature of the spar.

Not for the first time in recent times, Naruto felt a warm feeling wash over him, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling widely, and if only for a few seconds, basking in his accomplishment. That feeling was pride. Pride in his accomplishment. Pride in all of his accomplishments since he'd graduated.

Inch by inch, he was making up ground on those at the academy. And inch by hard-fought inch, he was edging slightly closer to his dream.

He had a very, very long way to go, but the blonde vowed he would relish each and every one of those inches along the way.

* * *

"So Naruto, what's with the new get-up? Finally get sick of the clown suit?"

Naruto looked up from his section of the fence he and Team 8 had been panting for long enough to catch Kiba's smirk, and had to actually resist reverting to type and sticking his tongue out at the Inuzuka.

"You surprised, Kiba? Personally, I'm more surprised your team-mates haven't gotten sick of the smell of wet dog. In fact, I'm sure Kurenai-sensei knows at least one water jutsu, we could get you cleaned up right now if you wanted."

"Coming from the guy who stinks so badly of ramen that if I didn't know any better, I'd say he kept miso in his weapons pouch instead of kunai."

"Really, dog-breath? You mean it? That's gotta be the nicest thing you've ever said to me!"

Kiba couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. Only Naruto could ever take that as a compliment. Still, the back and forth between the two so far had been more fun than Kiba had been able to have in a while. Of course, he had already grown incredibly attached to his team in the short time they had been together, he fully considered them part of his pack, his family. But he missed the banter, and friendly competition of some of the people he knew in the Academy, and Naruto at the moment, was fulfilling that particular want.

The Inuzuka could practically smell the change in the blonde, who although Kiba had known for a while, he had never really considered a friend for some reason. He was a lot more controlled in his movements - less clumsy, more sure of himself. At first, it seemed like he had lost his massive over the top exuberance, but that wasn't quite true. It was still there, but channeled differently. It was focused into whatever he was doing, whether that be whatever menial crap they were doing as a D-rank, or exchanging barbs with Kiba. Kiba liked this Naruto, a lot.

"Seriously though, man, what gives with the change of clothes. I thought 'Orange was the most awesome colour ever' or something?"

"Still is, mutt." Kiba bristled at the jab, but let it slide, seeing the blonde was about to continue. "It's just, after the exam, I sort of decided to take things a bit more seriously. I'd been slacking before then, not really paying attention to anything. I guess I felt I needed to make a change, so I worked my ass off until the team assignments trying to get myself up to scratch, and have carried on doing that since. I suppose a change of clothes was just part of that, though it was my sensei who actually suggested I do it."

"Working your ass off, huh? Once a dead-last always a dead-last, until proven otherwise."

"Oh really?" Naruto replied, smirk firmly in place. "I haven't seen anything from you that says your any better than you were at the academy. I'd wipe the floor with you _and _your puppy."

"Please, you're not the only one that's been training you know, Naruto. We've learnt some jutsu that would have you begging me to let you off the hook in seconds."

"Well, how about this, dog breath. You get good enough to get entered into the Chunin exams, and we'll settle this there. You better hope there's no audience though Kiba, or I'll have to put you to sleep in front of a crowd, and I don't wanna get a rep for animal cruelty."

"The Chunin exams?!"

Naruto paused painting the fence once again to glance over at Kiba. He looked and sounded surprised to hear about the Chunin exams. Naruto supposed that he shouldn't really be all that surprised. _He_ had only found out by way of a death threat from a bloodthirsty Jinchuuriki - not exactly the norm for a rookie Genin to receive the news, and he seriously doubted that Jiraiya would have told him before he absolutely had to.

"Yeah, the Chunin exams are being hosted here in Konoha in a months time. My sensei plans to enter me, so if you want to prove that your not all bark and no bite, you'd better prove to your Kurenai-sensei that you're up for it." Naruto stated, never losing his cocky front, even though his thoughts had already been taken up with thoughts of Gaara. Naruto was well aware that it wasn't a confrontation he could avoid, especially if Gaara was going to be making a point of hunting down Konoha shinobi. And Naruto knew killing intent when he felt it, the red-headed Genin was after one thing, and one thing only. Blood.

Or, if you wanted to be really specific, _his_ blood.

"Huh... no kidding..." Kiba appeared to be mulling something over in his head for a few moments before continuing on. "Well, I don't see why we can't get ourselves entered! I mean, if Naruto is good enough, then we sure as hell are, right guys?"

Hinata who had been painting a section off to left, all the while paying close attention to their conversation, smiled softly as she nodded in agreement.

"Of course. Logically speaking, it is impossible for Uzumaki-san to have improved enough to be better than the three of us together; therefore as a team, we stand an equally good chance of being nominated for the exams."

It had taken absolutely every single ounce of composure Naruto had to not jump out of his skin at Shino's words.

The guy was standing _right_ behind him. As in, directly behind him.

Naruto could feel the bug-user's breath on the back of his neck.

Man, Shino was _creepy_.

"Huh." Kiba said, casually, as Naruto tried his hardest to avert a panic attack. "Sasuke jumped out of his skin when Shino did that when we saw them at the mission hall the other day. You really must have gotten better, Naruto."

The blonde felt his eyebrow twitch.

Had he just been pranked? By Shino?

Oh.

He'd regret that. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even next week. But he'd definitely regret pranking Uzumaki Naruto.

He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

* * *

_3 Days Later_

Naruto looked at the toad in front of him with a considerable amount of pride. Jiraiya had said that this was would be one of the harder summoning techniques for him to pull off, because while also requiring a good amount of chakra, it required a pretty decent level of control because of the toads own small size. It only came to around the blonde's knee, and was a deep red in colour, and around it's stomach was a green belt, made of rope, that caused the toad's body to be shaped curiously like a gourd. Fittingly, it had a cork in it's mouth, identical to the ones used to keep gourds sealed.

"Okay then, Gama Hyōrō, me too, okay?"

The toad simply nodded, and raised his hand to his mouth, removing the cork from his mouth. Naruto felt the strangest sensation of initially his chakra being pulled away from his own body, towards the toad, with his physical body feeling the very sensation almost immediately after. Within the blink of an eye, the only thing left in the clearing, was the toad itself. Moving over to the closest tree, the toad formed a hand seal that only perhaps Jiraiya would recognise, and disappeared from sight, blending in perfectly to the background.

Naruto blinked in shock as he took in the space around him. The space inside the toad was absolutely cavernous, the Sannin had said it would be bigger inside, but this was just ridiculous. He stood on a small island made of stone, in the middle of a veritable putrid green sea of what Naruto guessed, was stomach acid. Around him, littered in amongst the acid were several oddly colored rocks, and unusual structures that looked unusually like giant vines.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jiraiya shouted towards his student from a perch atop one of the rocks within the toad's stomach. "Kekkai: Gama Hyōrō is essentially a combination of a barrier ninjutsu, and time/space manipulation. There are very few beings on the planet as good as the toads in working time and space into their ninjutsu, and this kind of thing is actually pretty simple by their standards. The main use of this jutsu is to isolate an enemy from his comrades, and defeat him within this chamber, separately. On the outside, the toad hides itself to prevent attacks from the exterior."

"There are very few shinobi I'd place bets on being able to get out of this toad's stomach, and the only Genin I'd say that was capable of it would be Gaara if he ever fully transformed into the Shukaku. If you need to keep him away from your allies, this is your best bet. Though if it looks like he'll be able to escape, you _must_ allow him to leave. If he punches a whole through the wall, the toad itself suffers the injury, and will likely die."

Naruto nodded slowly. He had read that it was difficult to remember that summons were not simply tools for a shinobi to use, but also fully sentient life - comrades, and friends. It rang particularly true with jutsu like this. It was difficult to associate the small toad he had summoned with the enormous space he was inside now, and Naruto knew it was a lesson he may not get a second chance to learn. If he allowed a toad to die fighting alongside him, not only would he be losing a comrade, the toads may also decide to refuse him aid.

Still, what a jutsu. Better yet, the blonde had pretty much got it mastered - he had done it perfectly every time he had tried it today. On top of that, he also had figured out exactly how to summon particular toads. He could summon Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, Gamasensō and a fourth toad, one of a similar size to Gamakichi, though apparently much older, Gamamirā; on command, as opposed to using the rough amount of chakra, and hoping for the best. Not too shabby for a only a few days (and naturally, a good few more Kage Bunshin) work.

"Now, as impressive as it is in here, don't suppose you could let us out, gaki? It's awfully stuffy, for a place so big."

Naruto flared his chakra in the way Jiraiya had explained to him when he first learned the technique - a signal to the toad to let those inside him free, and the pulling sensation on his chakra returned. In a flash, he and Jiraiya were back in their training ground, within Konoha's walls.

"You can head back now, Gama Hyōrō. Thank you for your help in my training." Naruto spoke to the small toad, who had become visible again, giving a small bow to emphasize his thanks. The toad simply bowed it's head in return, and vanished back to it's own realm.

"I have to say kid, even with your Kage Bunshin, you're coming along awfully fast with the summoning techniques I'm showing you. To be able to summon specific toads, and to have learned 'Kekkai: Gama Hyōrō' and 'Gamagakure no Jutsu' in such a small space of time, is no mean feat, Naruto."

"Well if I wanted to be modest, I'd say that having the Great Toad Sage teach me probably helped; but modesty never suited me, and you're nothing but a pervert, so it's probably just because I'm _that_ good."

Jiraiya chuckled, but took the ever so slightly back-handed compliment without complaint. His speedy uptake of the summoning techniques really was impressive, and his chakra control had come on further than even Jiraiya could have predicted. It would only ever be possible years from now, but one day, some of the simpler genjutsu may not be as far out of reach for the blonde as he had once thought.

"How about your other ninjutsu? How are they coming along? A little birdie tells me you've been trying to use some of the without seals."

"Not trying, you no-good pervert - you need better spies. I can comfortably perform Goukuuhou, and Kaminari Muchi totally without seals; and barring summoning, I comfortable enough with Fuuton: Daitoppa that I think I can make the jump to using it seal-less with a day or two of practice. Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, I can use pretty well, I think. I can control the size and heat of the fireball pretty effectively, and aiming it is a cinch. Oh, and I had a _lot_ of fun using it with Daitoppa."

Jiraiya smirked at that - like father, like son he supposed. Hell, what ninja didn't enjoy being able to conjure high-powered firestorms?

"Excellent, my apprentice. Now, I will teach you one of my greatest and most important skills; a lesson that if he were here today, your father would say was the most important lesson I ever gave him."

Naruto raised his eyebrow at Jiraiya's grandiose proclamation. It wasn't unlike him to make similar statements, but he hadn't started posing yet, so Naruto was pretty sure he was being at least partially serious.

"Today, and for the rest of this week, we will together take part in the most difficult and taxing training you have ever, and will ever do. Today, you will begin to master the art of..." Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his sensei paused for 'dramatic effect'.

"Calligraphy!"

Jiraiya grinned widely as his student sweat dropped heavily, before palming himself in the face. Hard. Now he just had to wait for the blonde to figure it out... There it was. Widened eyes, mouth open, penny dropped. Like father, like son indeed.

"Your going to start to teach me fuuinjutsu already?!" Naruto exclaimed, not even trying to hide his excitement.

"Not quite, Naruto. You're going to first learn how to copy seals exactly. Teaching you fuuinjutsu would mean I'd be teaching you how to construct seals, and the theory behind that. You can teach that to yourself, or we'll do it together, later. For now, I'm just going to teach you to write them exactly, and have you memorize and copy several one that I think you'll find useful." The Sannin explained carefully, trying to manage the blonde's expectation whilst also not dampening his enthusiasm.

"But I wasn't kidding when I said this would be some of the hardest training you will ever do. It's a 99% mental task, and requires unbelievable focus, determination and concentration. You have to be in complete control of your brush strokes, a single mistake, no matter how tiny, will render your seal useless or worse. Normally this would be a process that would take months, if not longer. But with your Kage Bunshin, I think we can get your calligraphy to a decent standard before the end of the week. Then, I'll give you the designs, and it'll be up to you to learn and memorize them. Just always run them by me the first couple of tries of each seal. Wouldn't want you blowing yourself up, no matter how funny that would be."

"Okay, so let's get started. I want you to create 30 Kage Bunshin, and divide them into groups of three." Jiraiya commanded, as he removed a scroll from a pocket in his jacket. Unraveling the scroll about a third of the way, he placed his palm against a seal on the parchment, and un-sealed what appeared to be a veritable mountain of sealing supplies. "Now, each clone needs to take enough to get started with their practice, and then form into groups of three. I'm going to create ten of my own Kage Bunshin to monitor the progress of the clones in the group. Each group will dispel after an hour of work, but five minutes apart from each other so the original isn't effected negatively by the dispelling."

Is that why I'm only making thirty? So that you can create enough Kage Bunshin to be able to monitor all of us properly?"

"Precisely, gaki. Once you're at a point where you can judge your own success, I'll have you make more, and have my own Kage Bunshin move through you checking the work, rather than having one constantly watching."

Naruto nodded before summoning thirty Bunshin as per Jiraiya's instructions. "Well you heard the man.. Get to it!" Naruto ordered, before turning to his sensei. "I take it you have something different in mind for me?"

"Not quite. You'll be doing the same, but with the original me giving you one to one tutoring. You're going to be the test as to how much the Bunshin are speeding up the practice. After the first cycle of clones, we'll have you try and write, and compare to your efforts before to see how far along you've come. That gives me a good idea of how long we'll need before I can move on to other things."

Naruto nodded as he reached for his own set of calligraphy supplies.

"Well, no time like the present I guess. Let's get started."

* * *

**Oh, hai. Fancy seeing you guys around here.**

**Really sorry for the rant at the top of the page. I wrote that way back in September, when I put out Ch. 20, and I had just seen a few of the reviews come in. Fast forward to now, and it seems more than a bit over the top. But still also mostly true.  
**

**Anyway, do not panic about how small an outing Team 8 got. There will be more of them (and Hinata, because we all know that's what you all really want to see haha). I just needed an interlude section, and to try and lay the seeds of a better friendship than Naruto and that team have in Canon at this point in the story.  
**

**Next chapter there is a small time-skip, straight to the end of the sealing training, because guise, hand-writing iz liek, boring. And there will be blood. I mean Yuugao. There will be Yuugao in the next chapter. And a mission. I think. I'm trying to come up with something. I want to do a few small missions with some of the other teams, and possibly a solo one with Jiraiya, along with moar training, before the Chunin Exams come knocking.  
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**I want Naruto to ready for some of what I have planned.  
**

**Konoha has figured out Orichimaru's intentions, but in return, Orochimaru has brought his own twist to the exams, and Naruto is going to have to be at his best to deal with it, alonside the Snake-eyed bastard himself, Gaara, and all the other teams that will be at the exams. Bummer for him. Not so much for us.  
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**But like I said. That is still a good few chapters away, and I'd quite like to break the 100k word count before pushing on to the Chunin Exams.  
**

**Regarding The Apprentice: Currently, I'm at a total loss with how to progress this. It's not given up on, but I keep planning CH. 2, and tearing it up and starting again. I'll settle for something eventually, it's just taking time.  
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**Regarding Success Is A Journey: I'm really enjoying the ideas I have bouncing around for this, and Ch. 3 is in the works.  
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	22. New Enemies, New Missions

**Another Updat****e? In the same month? On 12/12/12? Well shit. That pretty much wraps that up then. The world is ending, ladies and gents.**_  
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* * *

_Chapter 22  
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_New Enemies, New Missions  
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_An Unknown Location  
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Darkness.

Total and complete darkness. Not a single ounce murky light that he knew filled the cavernous underground room that he was in penetrated his eyes. Yet he could sense them. Surrounding him, in a circle. He could sense their fear.

It was so dense, and thick; it clogged the atmosphere around him, the sheer terror, the tension. He knew two were shaking, he did not know how many men surrounded him, but he knew that two shook with dread at the task they were being asked to perform, though the dread at the cost of refusing their master's call was far, far greater. He smiled softly, breathing in the air, the stench of terror that surrounded him; and he couldn't help but lick his cracked, dry lips in anticipation, couldn't stop his smile from growing.

_Any moment now. Any second, the order could come. _

His hands trembled slightly as he reached for the blade at his hip. Though he could not see it, he knew instinctively how to find it wit his hands. His swordsmanship might not be the best - it most likely wasn't even his own best skill; but he couldn't help but crave to use it. Smooth, graceful, efficient. Cold steel was something he felt an affinity for that he could not quite explain.

Those around him had seen his movement, and they readied their own weapons. He knew a few would have swords, too, though they could never match the beauty of his own. Some would have clubs, maces, kunai; various other weapons and tools that all men used to spill the blood of their kin.

Inferior. All of them.

He barely heard the words that he had been waiting for, excitement and adrenaline overwhelming his senses as those surrounding him haphazardly charged.

He almost sighed. They were amateurs. He had hoped for more, he had hoped his _master_ would have allowed him to face more.

They were close enough now for him to sense them. Twenty one men of various ages. The youngest seemed to be around his age, and the oldest was no older than thirty. Briefly, he wondered how they had come to be in such a wretched place; pawns, slaves to his master's wishes. In that respect, he was no better than them, a slave to the will of the man that had brought him here. Yet, he was so much more.

The first two had reached him, and they attacked simultaneously. He stepped forward in response, bringing them into range of his technique.

And then they were gone. Their chakra and life force no longer present. He knew that no man in the room had seen him bring his sword to bare, save his master. The other nineteen men in the room had simply seen him move in between the two men, and then, they had seen them fall, lifeless, their blood already pooling on the stone floor of the arena in which they stood.

He pushed forward, yet never attacked first; always on the front foot, but always allowing his opponent to show his hand. An attack from the front, a man with a mace. He sidestepped, and like a flash, struck out vertically, cutting from his navel to the throat. He didn't need to hear the retch of another to know the man had been eviscerated by his blade.

He could feel his master's gaze on his back as he continued to cut through the men before him, one after another fell, and bit by bit, his master's pleasure made itself more and more felt. The extraordinary chakra the man could bring to bare focused on him, and he reveled in it. Upping his speed, he made the initial strike for the first time, stepping inside another person's guard. This was a shinobi, a woman, though still likely a Genin. And he struck horizontally, beheading her in a single, clean motion. His master's chakra spiked in pleasure.

The last man standing. The fear rolled off of him in ways, though his trembling was the thing that gave him away. His weapon abandoned, the coward had decided to try and hide himself behind one of the stone support pillars of the arena. Unacceptable. He stopped before the pillar, and channeled his own chakra through his weapon for the first time in the battle, and struck out horizontally again, slicing through the solid stone like it was nothing more than paper.

He frowned. The man had screamed in agony and stumbled forward, a hideous gaping wound on his back exposed through the tattered rags he wore. He was still alive, which meant he hadn't been good enough, efficient enough. He suppressed his annoyance as his master's chakra flared once again; the likely reason was the man's babbling to be spared from death, his voice harsh and croaky as he fought to maintain consciousness after such a horrific injury.

"Your pain... You brought on yourself you know. I try to be merciful, kind, even; by allowing you the swift death my master would refuse you. But you..."

He drove his sword through the shin of the man on the ground, eliciting another gargled scream of agony before the man passed out in shock, his own body saving him from the excruciating pain that wracked him.

"...You refuse it. But that's okay. Because of that, I shall reward you in the best way I know how."

His eyes widened slightly, concrete grey pupils set against a sheer black backdrop, eyes that appeared as dead as the many corpses he had left behind, as he felt his master approach from behind him. He had crossed the arena without him sensing any movement until he was directly behind him. A stark reminder that though his position was a privileged one, it was no less precarious than the position of the men he had just slain.

"M-May I take him? Please? I know you ordered that they should all die, but this one, I want him..."

A hand on his shoulder, that somehow lacked the reassurance such a gesture would normally provide. He heard the man chuckle, an ice cold noise that would send terror along the spine of any who were not allied to him.

"Of course, of course. In return for such a... splendid display, I will allow you to keep him. But before you take him away, I must inform you of your very first mission."

He span to face the man he called his master, true excitement colouring his dull grey features for the very first time that day.

"You have a mission for me? I'll do anything!"

The man grinned wickedly at the display of enthusiasm from one who was usually so devoid of emotion.

"I know you will, my student. Tell me, were you aware that my dear old village, Konoha, is hosting the Chunin exams this year? How would you like to enter?"

"Will there be blood to spill?" The man nodded, the smile on his features twisting into a morbidly cruel grin. "Those that I kill... Can I keep them?"

"But of course! What kind of master would I be to send their precious student to kill without providing some kind of... _reward."_

* * *

_Four Days Since the Start of Sealing Training_

Jiraiya looked over his student's handwork with the most scrutinizing eye he could manage, and yet, the Sannin couldn't pick out a single fault. The kid's Calligraphy was flawless, even to his trained eye. Kage Bunshin allowed Naruto to master muscle-memory related tasks with astounding speed, and on a purely technical level, Calligraphy was just that. The blond had nailed it to a level good enough level by the morning of the second day, and Jiraiya had decided to see how far the Kage Bunshin method could be pushed.

By the end of the third day, Naruto had had over 300 Kage Bunshin working on it for around twelve hours, he was struggling for chakra towards the end, but Jiraiya estimated that over the course of the three days, Naruto had probably put more hours into the art as most practitioners of Fuuinjutsu put in over a few years, considering most would really only practice maybe an hour or two a day.

As a result, for most of today, the original Naruto had been sitting in the centre of their practice area whilst Jiraiya had set about systematically destroying his Kage Bunshin, in incredibly loud and destructive ways, all in order to see how Naruto could deal with writing in a combat scenario - under intense pressure, with massive distractions all around. The Genin had never lacked nerve, even for long before he graduated, and his ability to concentrate had come on leaps and bounds since he had. It hadn't taken him long to learn to block out the sounds and events of battle in order to focus on his task; and Jiraiya had even made a point of sending a few blunted kunai his was every now and again to ensure he was still alert.

Eventually, the Sannin had decided that the exercise had become little more than a waste of chakra, and called a halt to it, which led to where he was now, peering at the work of his apprentice.

"Huh." Jiraiya started, as flippantly as possible. "This isn't actually half bad, Naruto. A little scrappy in places, but more than good enough to get the job done with most commonly used combat and supplementary seals. As long as you keep practicing in your own time, you're more than ready to begin learning fuuinjutsu for real."

The pre-teen grinned sheepishly, having seen through the flippant nature of Jiraiya's appraisal of his work, and allowed himself to enjoy the compliment being thrown his way. For a moment, he pictured the pervert trying to teach him calligraphy six months ago, and nearly scoffed aloud at the idea. It felt good to be making progress, even if he didn't even really know any actual sealing techniques.

"So what about those seals you promised to show me then, you old goat? And I thought you said I wasn't going to be learning fuuinjutsu yet, just how to copy it?"

Jiraiya ignored the half-hearted attempt to get him riled, and instead focused on answering the serious parts of the blond's questions.

"I know I said that, but I also know for a fact you've been doing a little extra-curricular reading since we started, Naruto - you've already gone and dived into the basic theory without me. So when I next get the opportunity, I'll check up on your understanding, and give you a few pointers. Even so, my rule of not doing any fuuinjutsu for real until I give the approval still stands. And as for your first question - Keep your hair on, gaki. I'm just getting to that."

He reached into the pockets of his trousers, and pulled out three small pieces of paper, all no bigger than a playing card, and laid them out on the ground in front of Naruto, who was sitting down opposite the Sannin.

"These are the designs for the three seals you're going to learn how to copy in your own time. The first," The Sannin gestured to the piece of paper furthest to his left, "is a simple storage seal. As you know, these work based of the total weight of objects you wish to store, and this is a basic 65lb seal. Generally speaking, that would be enough to carry most of what you'd need for any short mission. You'd just use another to carry items for missions longer than a few days."

"The second," he continued, pleased to note that he had the blond's full attention, "is one you'll probably recognise, at least to an extent. It's an exploding note of my own creation. Not particularly high powered or large, but what you will want to note is that it burns incredibly hot; so hot in fact, that rather than seeing the typical fiery explosion, it burns brilliant white instead. Radius of about 3 or four meters, and anything inside that is going to end up toasted, full stop. It's ideal for lethal traps, something I know you've been showing an interest in."

Naruto was nearly salivating at this point. His interest in trap-making had spawned from Kakashi's suggestion to engross himself him theory on battle strategy and tactics, and his determination to learn how to do it to a good standard came from reading the published members of the Nidaime Hokage - an avid trap-maker himself, alongside his various other skills.

The Nidaime, in a time long before he acquired his title, was being pursued by an entire battalion of enemy shinobi, a force that numbered over 500, many of which were of Jonin level. A long way from home, with no chance of back-up or support; the future leader began a three day campaign of heavy guerrilla warfare, based around his impressive capability for stealth, and ingenuity and skill when it came to creating complex, but lethal traps.

By the end of the three days, only two shinobi were left standing. A bruised, battered, and exhausted Nidaime, though he was otherwise uninjured. And one last enemy shinobi, so badly maimed by the final trap laid by his opponent, that he would likely never fight again. The Nidaime allowed the man to return to his own village, and thus spread the word of the battle, and warning other villages against attempting to invade the Leaf, for fear of the fearsome shinobi that defended it.

And so Naruto had begun examining and building pre-existing trap designs, and also attempting to experiment with modifications and improvements when and where he could. By his own admission, he wasn't very good, but it was a start, and he certainly enjoyed being able to sit down and try and build from the schematics.

"And finally the third, is a seal that I originally created for use in later training with you, but I have modified it to be of use to you, should you run into Gaara during the Chunin exams, and you don't think you can bring him down through more conventional means." Jiraiya pushed on, tearing Naruto from his own thoughts immediately at the mention of the Suna Jinchuuriki.

"It's a chakra suppression seal that I designed, that is able to suppress the chakra of a bijuu, and prevent it from leaking from the seal of it's host. Now, because quite frankly, I'm brilliant; I know the seal used to seal the Shukaku, the bijuu that is within Gaara, and have been able to modify this seal to work on him. All you need to do is activate it, and then put it into contact with the boy's skin."

Naruto looked incredibly pensive as he thought over what the Sannin had just said.

"You said you originally created it for me to use... Why?"

"Because Naruto, no matter how you want to dress it up, you are a Jinchuuriki. That means that, at some point, likely sooner rather than later, you're going to have to start figuring out how to use the Kyuubi's chakra. It's too powerful a tool for you to ignore, and the nature of that tool means that you won't be able to ignore it. Either you take control of it, or eventually, it will take control of you."

"I created this seal, so that once you learn how to tap into it's chakra as your seal allows you too, you can gradually practice with more and more of it. Once you have control of a certain amount, we'll have you use a little more. Eventually, you'll hit your limit, and you'll start to lose control. Once that happens, I apply the seal, and we rinse and repeat until you can control it all. That was the plan, anyway. As we learn more, we may be able to work something out."

Naruto seemed to accept Jiraiya's fairly honest explanation. The boy wasn't stupid, and the Sannin was certain he knew he'd have to face up to using the Fox's power eventually.

"Do you think I can though?" Asked the blond, throwing the older man slightly off kilter. He'd never really heard Naruto having any doubts about his own ability to accomplish something, at least not out loud. So for him to actually voice that to Jiraiya was a good indication as to how much the idea of losing control one day scared him. "It's just, I've lost control before. I know what this kind of power feels like, and I've got a pretty good idea how much is there..."

"We'll take it a step at a time, Naruto. Baby steps. You can start with trying tiny amounts of it's chakra, and just gradually work your way up. What you have to remember, is that you're not alone in this - you're not the first. I know for a fact that both of the Jinchuuriki in Kumo have full control of their Bijuu, and one of them is the Eight tailed beast, likely the only one that can come close to matching the Kyuubi for raw power. It's definitely possible, you just have to figure it out."

Naruto seemed to relax as the Sannin spoke, reassured that he wouldn't be putting other people in danger by training with the dangerous power that had been locked away inside him by his father. Either way, he could see the use of the seal. Should Gaara begin to use the power of the Shukaku beyond the point where Naruto believed he could handle it, all he would have to do is land the one hit with that seal to level the playing field again.

"But that's enough of that kind of talk. Those cards are yours, memorize and learn those seals in your free time. Make sure you can create them under battle conditions. When you think you have one of them spot on, I'll check it before you try it."

"Why can't I start now?" The blond asked, his mind now fully focused on the seal designs in front of him.

"Because now, gaki, we have a mission. The old man told me about it this morning. We only have a few minutes until he'll be expecting us for the briefing."

* * *

**Ah crap. I so badly wanted to get more done in this chapter, but I was just struggling with flow. **

**I hope you enjoyed my little preview of what I guess is my very first OC? Guess his master. And I'd love to see what you guys believe his abilities will be, based on what I've already written.  
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**However, I can promise shit's going down next chapter. You could say the defining moments so far would be Chapter one, the arrival of Jiraiya, and his first C-rank. Next chapter will bring about another life defining moment for our blond friend.  
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**Next chapter, comes Wave with a twist. Well... not quite. Naruto gets a mission to wave in the aftermath of a mission undertaken by Team 7. And it's not a conventional one, he and Jiraiya are taking this together, which obviously means it's not your average Genin level mission.  
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**I have big plans for it, and I seriously hope I nail it. It'lll be a bumper length chapter (I'm going to shoot for the big 100k words) and it should be coming fairly soon. Within the next seven days, I hope.  
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**Thank you so much for all your reviews, and for reading. I tried to respond to as many as possible via pm. If I missed you, shoot me another message, and I'll get back to you as a matter of priority.  
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	23. The Art of Infiltration

**Bit (okay, a lot) later than I had hoped, buuuut... Enjoy!**

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_Chapter 23  
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_The Art of Infiltration  
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Sarutobi exhaled slowly, smoke pouring forth as he did so, spreading out before him and tracing mesmerizing patterns in the air before finally dissipating. Pipe smoking was one of the elderly shinobi's preferred methods of easing the many stresses and strains of the job he did, and soothing the guilt of sending his shinobi out to perform difficult missions. And, anticipating the arrival of his student Jiraiya along with the man's own apprentice to take just such a mission, he had turned to his pipe.

"You know old man you should cut that out, smoking can kill you - and we can't have you dieing before you've announced me as your successor now, can we?"

The Hokage lip twitched into an almost imperceptible smile as his eyes flickered to the window that only one person used as a method to get into his office. Well, two, if you counted his sensei.

"I hope you realise that you shouldn't be imitating your sensei's bad habits, like climbing through that window, Naruto-kun. They're the reason _he _hasn't been named Hokage."

"You and I both know that you couldn't make Ero-sennin Hokage. The hot springs would never be safe if he had to stay in the village." Naruto shot back, and the Sandaime had to concede the point, as Naruto walked round to the front of his desk, in order to speak properly to the Hokage. Sarutobi looked over the boy, and felt a surge of pride as he took in the shinobi he had become in just a short amount of time. From the subtle changes to the way he stood, that indicated a certain readiness to jump into action, or the slight changes in muscle definition that indicated the hard graft required of a shinobi; to perhaps most importantly, the sharpness and determination contained within the blond's gaze. His boundless energy, and determined personality had found a purpose, and been channeled and focused towards his dream, and protecting his village.

Very few shinobi his age could boast of the same.

"I take it Jiraiya has decided to wait for you to be briefed and get ready to leave?" The Sandaime inquired, earning a nod from Naruto.

"He said he'd meet me by the Eastern gate in an hour, so I'd have time to get mission ready."

"In that case I'll get started with the briefing immediately." The Hokage reached for a scroll on his desk and pushed it towards Naruto, motioning for the blond to pick it up. "This mission will be a B-rank infiltration mission. Normally, a shinobi of much higher experience would be assigned this kind of task; however, I'm going to be frank with you Naruto, Konoha's forces are stretched thin. All of our Jonin are occupied either with Genin teams, or their own missions; and the majority of our Chunin still in the village we require to maintain a reasonable standard of village security. In addition, this is a time sensitive mission, we can't afford to wait for other shinobi to become available."

"So, basically, you just need someone non-essential to our forces, yet good enough that you can trust them to complete the mission. That still doesn't explain why you've opted for me over another, more experienced Genin?" Naruto asked, admittedly with only slight hope of the Hokage answering his question.

"If I'm honest, there is only one other Genin level shinobi who may be a better choice than you to undertake this mission, given what Jiraiya has been reporting regarding your growth. However, there is another reason for choosing you for this mission. The fact is, you're a student of one of the Sannin, and you must have a record to match that for the village to maintain face - especially with the Chunin exams fast approaching. Konoha's position among the five nations is weaker than it has ever been, and as a result, it needs to appear that we are stronger than we actually are. One way of doing this, is to display the talent of our up and coming shinobi."

Naruto considered the Hokage's words carefully, in particular how he mentioned that the village wasn't in the best position. Vulnerable. He had always been led to believe, in all his studies, and by everyone he spoke to, that Konoha was the strongest of the five. That this may not be the case anymore unsettled him. It meant that his home could be in danger.

He was also aware that he was likely being told information that very few of his rank would be told, because of his position as the apprentice of one of the Sannin; but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that the old man had an ulterior motive in giving him this kind of information. It was something he'd have to think over later. For now, he had a mission to focus on.

"Now, back to the mission itself." The Sandaime said, as if reading Naruto's train of thought. "As you may be aware, Team 7 returned from a C-Ranked escort mission to Wave Country, not all that long ago. They encountered, and successfully fought, ninja hired by a man named Gatou. The man was the owner of a global shipping company, Gatou Corporation, which we now know to be a front for a wide array of illegal operations. Drugs, sex trafficking, slavery, extortion - just about every illegal or illegitimate means of making money was being utilized. They has seized control of the trade routes around Wave Country, and attempted to take control of it's populace by crushing the economy of it's towns."

Naruto couldn't prevent a frown from marring his features. These people sounded like scum bags, the kind the blond hated more than any other, preying on people who needed help for nothing more than a little money.

"However, Gatou was killed during the mission, and through the actions of Team 7, a bridge was completed allowing the country to trade properly with the surrounding nations. This temporarily caused the corporation a number of problems, namely because Gatou had no contingency plans for it until after his death. The resultant power struggle allowed us to gather a small amount information a few key operation hubs for the companies illegal proceedings, and prepare plans to shut the company down totally."

"But you need more information, right? If we don't totally shut down all the major branches of the company, the ones we miss will either go to ground, meaning it will really hard to catch the people running the show; or, even worse, the crimes committed by a particular branch will escalate out of control, because with the Gatou Corporation shut down, there's nobody keeping them in line and relatively under the radar, and that obviously puts civilian lives at risk." Naruto interjected, his face frowning in thought.

"A very fair, and as it is, accurate analysis. Now, as it happens, Gatou had moved his entire central hub of operations to a small village just within the borders of Wave prior to implementing the trade embargo, and in theory, all and any evidence pertaining to their illegal actions will be contained within. It's location, and all the relevant information we have is contained within the scroll provided. Your mission is to infiltrate the base undetected, and retrieve any and all relevant or useful information on the corporation's network of illegal activities. It most likely will not be overtly obvious which are the documents you require, as they won't refer directly to anything illegal as a precaution"

"Now, be aware of two things. Firstly, though our current presence in Wave as we assist them with getting back on their feet ensures that the large band of mercenaries the company employs are kept off of the streets, it is likely that the force remains within the stronghold itself as security. Secondly, it would look incredibly bad for Konoha if we were to be caught snooping into the affairs of Hi no Kuni's largest companies, so you must not be identified as one of our shinobi."

"So no headbands, symbols, or equipment that can be traced back here?" Naruto responded, eliciting a confirming nod from the Hokage. "I'm all over it, old man. If that's everything, I'll head off and meet the old pervert. I'll be back bef-"

"Actually Naruto, that isn't everything." The Hokage interrupted, and Naruto couldn't help but notice that it felt like the temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees, and the nature of the Sandaime's gaze had changed. "There is a second thing I would ask of you, but before I do, I want to stress that this is not an order. I am aware that I don't tend to hand out missions as if they were orders from a military commander, and though often they are not, most treat them as such. I want you to be totally clear that you are not obligated to accept this task in any way. If there were any justice, or even if there was anybody else I could safely ask this of, I wouldn't be talking to you about it at all."

"Ask away, Hokage-jiji. I won't make any promises, but you know I'd do my best." Naruto replied in the most even voice he could muster. He'd never admit it, but the intensity of the Hokage's eyes as the looked into his own, sizing him up, trying to read him and his emotions, and the clear severity of whatever the Hokage was about to ask him to do was beginning to get to him a little.

"The individual who has taken over the running of the Gatou Corporation, including it's illegal activities, is a former member of the Konoha civilian council until two years ago. He ran several of the largest banks in the village, and had accrued massive wealth and influence within the village walls. Through a combination of bribery and coercion, he has been able to gather a considerable amount of information on this village's military. Two years ago, we discovered his treachery, but far too late. He had already escaped the village, and hid himself. To keep himself from being discovered, as far as we are aware, he has refrained from selling any information on to our enemies; however, now that he has stepped out into the open, we are certain he will attempt to sell his secrets on. Unfortunately, we also don't know what information he has managed to acquire, so countering the information leak is impossible."

The Hokage sighed audibly as he pondered how he should approach what he was about to ask the blond to do, fairly certain that the Genin would accept - however grudgingly. He even briefly toyed with the idea of not asking at all, village be damned.

"...You want me to kill him, don't you? You wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it if you didn't." At Sarutobi's silence, the blond turned his gaze to the floor, as he turned over what the Hokage was asking of him. Everything he had ever heard, read, or seen about being a ninja stated that taking life, and confronting death, was an inevitability of being a ninja. But Naruto couldn't help but think that he would be different. That he would be able to avoid taking a life, especially in cold blood. "Can you at least tell me why? Why this has to end in a death - why can't I just capture him, bring him back?"

"Given our current situation, bringing him to the village is impossible."

Naruto's breath hitched. Bringing him to the village was impossible? That made it sound like it wouldn't be safe to bring him back into the village to interrogate or imprison. Almost as if there were threats _already within the village_.

"No doubt," the Hokage started, catching Naruto's attention once more. "You will come to your own conclusions. Just be aware that there are _always_ threats, from within, and without, and right now, our enemies without are our main concern. And, whilst forces within are by their very nature, potentially far more dangerous; provided they are identified, they are also far easier to restrict and even manage, should they be too well entrenched to destroy outright. Time is very much on our side, should we continue to be suitably cautious and vigilant."

The blond's mind was a veritable whirlwind of thoughts and possible theories. The Hokage had been crystal clear, whilst remaining as cryptic as possible. _Too well entrenched_ would imply a position of influence with the village, ties to the man he was being sent after hinted towards being linked with the council, and simply being considered a threat would indicate strong influence within the shinobi ranks. Not to mention that the Sandaime felt the need to be cryptic in his own office. He had been presented with as many of the pieces to a puzzle as the Hokage could provide, and been told to be vigilant, but that there was no immediate threat.

But that still left one issue...

"I understand, Hokage-jiji. Just answer me this - is it important for the safety of this village that I take this mission." His own eyes met the Hokage's once again, and he couldn't help but notice how much regret was held within them.

"I... Yes, it is. The risks involved are too great, and whilst we could potentially wait for a Jonin to be free to undertake this mission, the more time he is allowed to roam free, the more chance of the security of this village being jeopardized."

"Then I'll do it. But just so you know-" Naruto begun, his eyes never leaving the Hokage's, almost challenging the older man to disagree, or question his words. "I'm not doing it because it's some kind of stupid order from a superior. I'm not doing it because ninja are supposed to be able to kill. Hell, I'm not even doing it because this guy probably deserves it. I'm doing this because I trust _you, _and I trust that as Hokage, you would only ever decide to do what's best for the village. If you say that this needs to happen to keep this place safe, then even though I won't like it, I'll give it everything I've got. I'll protect this village, and everything it represents, with my life. _That_, is my Nindo."

And with that, the blond picked up the second scroll the Hokage had produced representing this mission, and began to leave the room.

"Now, I'd better not keep the old pervert waiting any longer. He might get bored and start looking for women to pester."

The Hokage merely nodded, signalling to the Genin that he was okay to leave, and reached once more for his pipe as the child left him to his thoughts.

He had truly inherited the Will of Fire in the same way his father had before him, and he was truly proud of the young man.

Despite everything however, he couldn't help but lament as yet another person so young left his office to spill blood for the sake of their village.

* * *

"So, you took both missions, huh?" The Sannin asked, eying his apprentice as they walked through the forests just outside of Konoha's walls. They had been walking for nearly an hour, and Naruto had been spookily quiet.

"Yeah." Naruto responded, his voice lacking it's usual enthusiasm and vigor."I'm just trying to get my head around it, you know? I know it's naive, I really do, but an assassination mission kinda goes against everything I pictured a Konoha shinobi to be, before I actually became one."

"Actually Naruto, it's not such a naive thought." Jiraiya replied carefully, mulling over his next words. "Coming from Konoha, we're taught in a different way to those from other villages. Whilst in some places, strict adherence to the Shinobi Code is encouraged; in our village, we're taught the code, and effectively encouraged to only take certain lessons from it. Instead, we're shown to value the lives of our comrades over success; and even that taking life is something that should be avoided, if at all possible.

"In fact, being from Konoha, taking a life isn't at all something expected of most ninja, and there are many who go through their entire careers able to get by simply capturing enemies, or avoiding conflict where at all possible. The village shinobi corps very, very rarely take on actual assassination missions and even then, it's only when the village's safety is at stake. And when it is required, the pool of shinobi who are actually asked to undertake such missions is incredibly small, because it is only asked of those whom the Hokage is certain to be able to take the emotional strain of actually setting out with the sole purpose of taking a life, because let me tell you right, it's a completely different animal from killing without necessarily meaning to on a normal mission. Of all the shinobi I know personally in the village, the only people I can think of who ever had to do more than one assassination, were myself and Orochimaru, the Yondaime, Hatake Kakashi, and Mitarashi Anko."

"You had to do assassination missions, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, curiosity plainly displayed on his features. "I didn't think you'd have ever wanted to do that kind of mission. I'd never have pegged my Dad for them..." The blond added, in a near silent murmur.

"I'll be totally honest with you Naruto, I hated doing them, and so did your father. But times were different when we were taking that kind of mission. We were at war with several different countries, surrounded on all sides. It was kill, or watch Konoha burn. I still regret every life I've ever taken in this line of work, but would never take any of it back, because I know what it would mean for my village. And that's the most important thing to remember when you've done this, Naruto. It will hurt, a lot. The guilt will be more than you can likely handle. But you mustn't ever let go of that guilt, because as long as you feel that, it means you're still human, that you haven't turned into some kind of bloodthirsty animal. But you also can't forget, that it had to be done, for the sake of the village you want to protect. The home you'd give your own life to defend."

"I understand, I really do - I'm just not sure I'll ever be able to accept that it was something that had to be done, that I couldn't have found another way."

"I still think that, but it's something that you have to work through when you get to it. I'll be there to help you, and so will everyone you know; just like Sarutobi-sensei and my team helped me. I still struggle with it more than I probably should. Every time I take a life, I make sure to take a note of their names, and pray for them in my own time. It doesn't help much, but it's enough to get me through."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Jiraiya struggled with anything related to being a shinobi. The blond would never have admitted it, but the man had seemed totally invincible up until now.

"I'll tell you what else helps - knowing that you did it in the most respectful, and painless way possible. How about when we make up camp I take you through some things that will help you do that, and when we're done, I'll teach you a new jutsu to take your mind off it - one that I guarantee no-one your age in Konoha knows? I have a toad watching the man you're being sent after, so I'll know if we need to get there straight away. As long as he doesn't make a move, we can afford to take a bit more time to get there."

Naruto smiled at the gesture, and also at the prospect of learning a new technique; yet still, he couldn't shake the growing sense of unease in the back of his mind about what he was about to do.

And then, there was something else. Jiraiya had said that there weren't many people that took assassination missions, because of the strain it puts on people. If he completed his mission, would he then be forced to take more, since the Hokage knew he could take it? He could always opt out of course, but he couldn't help but consider that a little cowardly, if the village needed him.

But that was when another thought hit him.

If he refused an assassination mission, that would mean somebody else would have to be sent out in his place. Kakashi-sensei, or Ero-Sennin, or even whoever that Anko woman was. Somebody else would have to live with the guilt Jiraiya spoke of, because he wasn't willing to.

If he was okay with doing that - putting his comrades in the firing line for no reason other than cowardice, he realised, he could never become Hokage. Much less one that would make his parents proud.

It was unacceptable to him, that kind of failure, and that kind of selfishness.

Naruto took a deep breath, and moved to catch up to Jiraiya, who had started to pull ahead of him already. Now he had a reason for doing this mission, one that he could truly get behind.

He would, so the people he cared about wouldn't have to.

* * *

"That's enough for practice on the killing techniques, Naruto. I have something a little more fun for you to learn, come back over here and I'll explain it to you."

The Genin nodded, signalling his understanding to his teacher ,and turned towards his Kage Bunshin, who had been practicing the techniques Jiraiya had been showing him. The two had stopped for the night in a small clearing by a shallow stream that ran swiftly through the densely wooded forests surrounding Konoha. Jiraiya had started by showing the techniques to the blonde, and left a Kage Bunshin to watch him practice, while the original Sannin set up a fairly meagre camp, which consisted of a humble two-man tent and a fire. There had been several different techniques, all of which geared towards killing the target as quickly, and quietly, as possible. And preferably with as little mess as possible, too.

Most of them centered around striking a point above the sternum called the suprasternal notch, allowing you to drive down into the heart for a quick, painless and clean kill. Ideally he would approach the target from behind, or the side to allow him to cover the target's mouth, which would prevent any noise. This was especially important with the kind of strike he was going to use, because it tended to force air up from the lungs and through the voice box, causing a kind of 'artificial' scream.

He shook his head, in an attempt to break up his train of thought. He could ponder the morbid nature of the mission later, he still had work to do. Without a word, the Bunshin began to dispel themselves one by one, and Naruto himself turned towards Jiraiya, who leant casually against a tree across from where Naruto had been practicing. The Genin couldn't help but notice that the man had been watching him intently since they had left the village, and especially since their talk earlier, with an unreadable expression on his face. Usually he would have been delighted that somebody at least seemed worried about him, but at this point, it just reminded him about what he was being asked to do.

Briefly, he felt the urge to try and stop this from happening at all rise, before he forced it down, and walked over to where his sensei stood in order to start work on what the Sannin wanted him to try and learn.

"So what's this jutsu you want to teach me, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, making sure to address him with the nickname Naruto had given him, to try and alleviate some of the older ninja's concerns. "You better be telling the truth when you said no-one else my age knows it." He threatened half-heartedly, causing the Sannin to break into a smile.

"Not even that Uchiha kid you don't seem to like will know this one, I guarantee it."

"What makes you say that? I mean, the Uchiha library must be packed with jutsu for him to learn... Unless it's particularly rare, or powerful?" At that, Jiraiya laughed, causing Naruto's confusion to rise.

"I say that because it is neither rare, or powerful. In fact, it's technically not even a combat technique, which is precisely why most Uchiha neglected it until they have to, and why you little friend won't know it either. Hell most don't learn it until they try and make Jonin."

"Why is that? If you're going to teach it to me, it has to be useful, so why wouldn't others learn it as soon as possible."

"Useful is an understatement and a half gaki. It's a technique that you have to be able to demonstrate to a sufficient level in order to become Jonin, such is it's value. However, typically, it doesn't hold much value until you are a Jonin."

"So, it's a technique that's only useful for missions that Jonin are likely to undertake?"

"You're pretty much right on the money. It's an infiltration technique that makes it easier to avoid detection by sensors or other shinobi. Obviously, as Konoha doesn't tend to send anyone but Jonin 'behind enemy lines' so to speak, it doesn't really become necessary until you want to attain that rank, which is why so few bother to learn it until they learn the requirements."

"You think there'll be shinobi in the base then?" Naruto asked, as Jiraiya's implication went directly against what his information told him.

"I think it's better to be safe than sorry, especially since I won't be right there with you. Gatou Corp has hired shinobi before, and it wouldn't take anything other than a mediocre sensor to pick up your chakra and give you away. This jutsu will help with that, although a really skilled sensor type would be able to find you regardless."

"It''s called _Ninpo: Naibu Shōten_, although to call it a jutsu is probably an exaggeration. It's purpose is simple. Your chakra is drawn inwards to your core, and suppressed. This minimizes your chakra output, and once you've mastered it, makes it difficult for even the most adept sensors pick up your chakra signal, because sensors work by being able to sense the chakra you expel naturally through your tenketsu points, rather than the chakra already within you. This has a secondary effect of making you incredibly light on your feet, as the chakra is pulled away from the muscles in your legs and arms. Unfortunately, it is not a substitute for being able to move silently, but as you haven't mastered that just yet, it will definitely give you a little bit of an edge."

"When you learned to pull on your chakra in the Academy, you should have learned to feel your 'core', yeah?" Naruto nodded, understanding that Jiraiya was only asking because of the Academy's methods when it came to teaching, or no not as the case may be, the blond. "Good. All you need to do is focus on your core, and the chakra flow coming out of it; and rather than 'pull' chakra from your core as you would when using a jutsu, you draw back the chakra already circulating through your system, as though you're trying to roll it all up into a ball within your core."

Naruto closed his eyes, and did as requested, feeling out the chakra within his system, and focused his attention his own core. Then, he began to draw on the chakra, pulling it back within himself like Jiraiya had described, trying to form it into a ball. However, he quickly found that his chakra was less than willing to comply. Each time he wold attempt to draw more in to his core, chakra he had gathered earlier escaped, leaving him no better off whenever he tried.

The Sannin had apparently noticed the blond's concern.

"This is both an exercise in control and, perhaps more importantly, inner calm. You need to relax, clear your head before you try it. Your chakra will respond to your state of mind, if you're calm, it will be so too, and therefore easier to gather and contain. You won't be able to gather it all on your first go, so just take it incrementally. Gather some into a ball within your core, and compress it as small as you can, and then progressively add more. Don't worry about finishing before we have to leave, you don't have to master it tonight, just get it to the point where you could hide your chakra from most Chunin without much trouble, which to be honest, won't take you very long at all."

Naruto nodded once again, and silently conjured a dozen Kage Bushin to help with the technique, determined to nail it that night.

The old pervert had been right. A new jutsu _was_ an excellent way to take his mind off of the mission ahead of him.

* * *

"So, are you ready to talk me through your plan, Naruto?"

The blond in question looked up from the paper he'd been using to scribble some rough notes and diagrams on, and answered with a confident 'yes'. Once again, the Sannin found himself being impressed with his student. Another half a day of travel and they had made it to a spot just inside the borders of Wave Country, and not too far away from Gatou Corp's base of operations. Already, Naruto had gotten sufficiently good enough with the Naibu Sh_ō_ten to reduce his chakra output to a level where only particularly talented sensors at Chunin level, or an average Jonin would be able to pick up on his chakra output. They were rare enough either way, and Jiraiya considered the chances of the company hiring yet more ninja to be incredibly slim.

More importantly however, he seemed to be a little more at ease with his mission. It was pretty blatant that Naruto didn't like it, but he had resolved to accomplish it, and for the right reasons too. The hard part off course, was when the deed was done and the guilt kicked in, but that bridge would have to crossed when they came to it.

And so, because Naruto was already at an acceptable level with the killing techniques, and the jutsu, he had spent the time since they had made camp making plans and devising strategies for infiltrating the admittedly impressive headquarters of Gatou Corporation.

"Right, essentially the building is split up into three wings, East, West and North. The North Wing is probably the most guarded, as it's where the man in charge of the whole operation lives on the top floor. The most important to my first mission, is the East Wing. It's where the bulk of the secretarial work, admin and things like that happen. It's the hub of the entire Corporation, and the archive there is likely where the information we need is going to be kept. The West Wing is the barracks for the in-house band of mercenaries the corporation keeps, so I'll be steering as clear of there as possible." Naruto began, gesturing towards the building schematics that had been sealed in the mission scroll itself, along with all the other vital information the blond would need for the mission.

"According to this, there are two ways into the East Wing, going through the front door, and one other. It's actually a converted mansion, and this means there's an attic, which according to my information for anything but storage, and can be accessed from the roof. That's my access point. From there, I drop into the room directly below, which is one of seven on the wing itself, and is one of the three archive rooms. I start my search there, and methodically work my way through the Wing, ensuring I get everything I need. From there, I push into the Main Hall of the building to and gain access to the North Wing from there. The wing is actually a tower, with only the one room at the top where the target sleeps. All I have to do is work my way to the top, avoiding the guards likely to be stationed there, break into the room as quietly as possible, and hopefully do the deed without him ever knowing I was there."

Jiraiya pondered Naruto's short explanation of his plan. Obviously, they had no information on the guards patrols, neither their number, patrol patterns or shifts, so the blond would have to keep his wits about him to not get caught. However, the entrance to his targets room was a problem

"Can you not think of a better way to get from the East Wing to the North without passing through the Main Hall? Going that way leaves you incredibly exposed as you pass through."

"I thought about going via the roof again, but the only access to the tower room is the room's window itself. Unfortunately they're barred, and breaking through them would be miles too noisy, I think. I'm going to try and get through the doors as quickly and quietly as possible, and take to roof if at all possible. A bit of wall-climbing shouldn't increase my chakra output to dangerous levels, so I should stay undetected" Naruto replied, his frown matching Jiraiya's. Evidently he had seen the flaw in his plan also, and could think of no way around it.

"I suppose what you have will have to do. Just remember that things _will_ go wrong with it, so be prepared to improvise and adapt with the situation. I'll be sending a toad with you that is connected to me via chakra, something I'll show you how to do later, I imagine. The toad can alert me from a distance if anything goes disastrously wrong and you need me there. I can't really see any problems, short of you running in to a Jonin level ninja, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Jiraiya said, his mind focused on _his _ task for the night, one of great importance to the village's safety. He hoped that nothing went wrong with Naruto's mission, because the village absolutely needed the information he was attempting to gain tonight.

"Anyway, get some rest for now, gaki. You're going to be having a long night, after all."

* * *

Naruto wiped the beads of sweat that had begun to form on his brow away with the sleeve of his shirt, his eyes never leaving the pair of mercenaries he could see in front of him from his vantage point amongst the trees, and stood between him and the sheer face of the mansion he needed to get to. The guards were all as far as Naruto could see, normal mercenaries, and were spaced equally around the building to keep watch for intruders. For the first time Naruto found himself appreciating the real strategic advantages of his village being quite literally 'hidden in the leaves'. Much like Konoha, this mansion stood in the midst of a deep forest, thick enough to to obscure both the sun, and clear long range vision; the only difference was the thin veil of mist that crept amongst the bases of the trees, and was getting ever thicker as the night went on.

This meant that ninja used to such surroundings would be able to move easily, comfortably, and most importantly unseen; and ambushes and defending locations would as a result become significantly easier. However, in this situation as the offensive party, the conditions were beneficial to the blond Genin. He was able to move quietly and unseen; and whilst normally the guards' formation would have been okay, the lack of visibility meant that each pair was isolated from the rest, and communication would be difficult. In addition to that, there wasn't a mercenary on the planet that could fight in a forest as effectively as a Konoha shinobi.

Naruto dropped to the forest floor, keeping the tree he had been on between him and the two mercenaries' line of sight the entire time. Almost totally silently, he darted to the tree slightly ahead of him and to the right. This was the tricky part, to knock out both of these guards silently, and using as little chakra as possible. His hand instinctively reached for his kunai pouch in anticipation of him making his move, and had to bite back a curse as he realised it wasn't actually there, as he wasn't wearing his usual shinobi gear. He had eschewed in favour of a lighter outfit he had bought at Jiraiya's behest when they were replacing his jumpsuit. It consisted of black combat trousers, that whilst looking like the standard Konoha version, were actually much thinner and lighter, and also created much less noise whilst moving. He wore a black long sleeve shirt of the same material, along with a face mask not dissimilar to Kakashi's and a black bandana to cover his bright blond hair. He had instead hidden some select equipment within the seams of his clothes, meaning he had weapons if they were needed.

Briefly, he thought to himself that he must look pretty stupid, for a ninja - in compared to him in his orange jumpsuit (that, by that way, he still couldn't find fault in). But the thought was gone almost as quick as it came, as Naruto spotted his opportunity to act. One of the guards had slumped to the floor, sitting down with his back to the blonde, clearly fed up with what could well have been a shift of several hours on his feet. The other guard had been practicing what Naruto thought were incredibly basic katana strikes, and was sufficiently distracted to give Naruto time.

He darted out from behind the tree, speeding towards the seated guard with a kunai he had kept within the seam of his sleeve in his hand in a reverse grip; and it was the ring end of that kunai that he brought crashing down on the unsuspecting guard's head, who only had time to grunt sharply, before he entered the realm of unconsciousness. Naruto was on the move before the body hit the ground, and Naruto was a step away from striking distance before the second man had noticed his companion's fall.

It was too little, too late. The mercenary only had time to let loose a surprised 'What the-' before Naruto had gotten inside his guard, and delivered a crushing strike, again with the kunai's ring end, to the man's temple, leaving him joining his friend on the floor.

Naruto breathed out through his mask deeply, and set about moving the bodies into a fairly concealed place back behind the treeline. He didn't think he'd be in there for very long, and they definitely wouldn't be coming to for at least a few hours, but the unconscious guards being discovered while he was inside would be a disaster.

Returning back to where the guards had been, he approached the wall to the East Wig, where he knew the entrance to the attic was. It was only three stories high, and was built in what looked to Naruto to be a foreign style, though he was nowhere near sure enough to be able to tell for sure. It was made of brick, but painted white, with black wooden planks sectioning of parts of the wall into squares. From below, the roof appeared thatched, but Naruto knew from the plans this was for aesthetics only, and potentially to disguise the roof access. The slanted flat thatched section only ran upwards for a few feet before reaching the end, and a drop onto the real roof of the structure.

Immediately, Naruto could see that while climbing the building's wall without chakra would be a cinch because of the wooden planks on the side, but that on the other hand, the overhang of the thatched roof would cause a problem without chakra. Naturally, the Genin put that to the back of his mind, and started his climb anyway, using the wood and the more damaged bricks as hand and foot holds, and had quickly scaled almost the entire wall, before coming across the apparent impasse that was the start of the roof.

Apparently, a some kind of higher power was on his side, because as he scanned above for a way up, he spotted the gutter, black to blend in with the shadow created by the overhang. Reaching up, he gripped the gutter and tested it, making sure it would take his weight, before pulling himself up on it and grabbing one of the timber beams within the fake roof itself. What Naruto didn't realise, is that the only reason the guttering had come even slightly close to taking his weight, was the combination of the fact that he had his Naibu Sh_ō_ten active, and he had grasped either side of where the pipework was bolted to the building itself.

It didn't matter either way, because within moments the young shinobi had clambered over the thatch work and onto the roof, and darted towards the only trapdoor on the whole surface. It was unlocked, much to the blond's surprise, and Naruto, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, climbed down into the building.

He was inside, and now he could get on with the hard part.

* * *

Jiraiya took another sip of his sake, waiting for his second appointment of the evening to arrive. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what _this_ person could want. His first meeting in this dank tavern in a slum district of Wave had just been a standard update from one from one of his regular contacts. Nothing special, some pretty large, although not altogether unusual troop movements for Iwa, and more surprisingly Suna. No, it was definitely his second guest that had him so much more on edge.

Which was why he tensed quite so much as he did when a figure sat down across from him, placing his straw hat on the table as he did so.

"So..." Jiraiya began carefully, his eyes hardened as he stared into the beady black pupils of the man opposite him, who despite the tension of situation, sported a grin.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Hoshigaki Kisame?"

Somehow, the mans grin grew, showing off a set of razor sharp teeth.

* * *

**Oh Snap!  
**

**IMPORTANT: THIS !DOES NOT! MEAN THAT KISAME IS GOING TO BE A 'GOOD GUY' AS SUCH. Just wait and see, my friends. Kisame is who he is, and I can't warp his personality too much.**

**_Ninpo: Naibu Shōten_ - Ninja Art: Internal Focus  
**

**Phew. *wipes sweat from brow*. I really hope you guys enjoy this one. It was really interesting to write Naruto as a more 'professional' ninja than he is in canon. His improved thinking, the fact that it was a solo mission, and the fact that he knew he'd be killing; really pushed him into an all-business mindset, and it was pretty fun to write. Although I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. I really wanted to hit 100k this chapter and finish, maaaan :/**

**Now, to answer some reviews:  
**

**Shel-Coop: **Right, first off, thank you so much for the lengthy review! When I see someone write that much, I take it to mean that they enjoyed (or hated XD) my story enough to become emotionally involved in it, which to me, is a sign I'm doing something right. I'll take everything else you've said issue by issue going through your review:

Firstly, just as a heads up, I'm English, so at least as far as I'm aware, over the water, we spell realise and other such words, with an 's'.

Secondly, as for Hana's age. She, in my story is 15 years of age, rather than the same age as Naruto. I mentioned elsewhere that she had three years of experience as a Genin already. You mentioned that you would be okay with it if I had made her the same age as someone like Temari? Well it's funny you should say that, because I used Temari's age as a guideline for Hana's when I changed it, because I specifically _didn't want Hana to be the same age as Naruto_. According to the Narutopedia, which I use as a reference point, and I believe takes from the series/data books, Temari in Part 1 is 15 years old. Hana and Temari are the same age in my story.

Thirdly, glad you like the 'Chikyū no Terāzu'. They won't be heavily featured for a while, but they'll definitely pop up and cause problems every now and again. I'm really enjoying what I have in my notes as far as characterisation goes.**  
**

Finally, I have said this before. I have no plans for a pairing. None. I would rather avoid using Hana for that purpose though. That's not her character's role in this story

**Q.Q: **Oh shit, I've been rumbled. Really surprised you were the only person to pick up on that! Or at least mention it lol.

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Your patience with me and my irregular, and often short updates, as well as my apparently shit way of using commas is astounding.  
**


	24. That's the Easy Part

**The most difficult thing of trying to update at least semi-regularly, alongside work and studying for a history degree, is not getting carried away and starting stories for all the plot ideas I have. I have two Naruto stories that I've removed on the back burner and ready to go, I have an idea for a Harry Potter fic in my head that I love, and I'm toying with the idea of a History's Strongest fic, purely cause I don't think I've ever read one.  
**

**I think there is a very good chance I'm clinically insane.**

**I still love this fic, as my first proper story. It's been so long since I started it, it's already speeding away from the directions I initially intended it to take, as new ideas supplant old ones. It's almost like the story is guiding me, rather than the other way round. I'll look at my plan for a chapter, and realise 'my Naruto wouldn't react that way/do/say that', and have to change accordingly. The same with several of the other characters I've used more frequently. **

**And there's still a long, long way to go yet.**

**Sooo close to 100,000 though! Exciting!**

* * *

_Chapter 24  
_

_That's the Easy Part...  
_

* * *

_Jiraiya took another sip of his sake, waiting for his second appointment of the evening to arrive. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what this person could want. His first meeting in this dank tavern in a slum district of Wave had just been a standard update from one from one of his regular contacts. Nothing special, some pretty large, although not altogether unusual troop movements for Iwa, and more surprisingly Suna. No, it was definitely his second guest that had him so much more on edge._

_Which was why he tensed quite so much as he did when a figure sat down across from him, placing his straw hat on the table as he did so._

_"So..." Jiraiya began carefully, his eyes hardened as he stared into the beady black pupils of the man opposite him, who despite the tension of situation, sported a grin._

_"To what do I owe the pleasure, Hoshigaki Kisame?"_

_Somehow, the mans grin grew, showing off a set of razor sharp teeth._

* * *

Jiraiya gazed warily at the incredibly dangerous man that was currently sitting opposite him. The Sannin had seen many peculiar things in his time, but few matched the sheer strangeness of Hoshigaki Kisame. An S-ranked missing-nin famed for his brutality and thirst for blood, Kisame was a tall man, whose extraordinary skills were matched only by his appearance. He was dressed in a long black cloak, decorated with distinctive, blood red clouds, and a collar that was capable of hiding the lower portion of the man's face.

Kisame however, preferred to keep his mouth on display; which allowed him to flash a grin to his enemies that fully show cased his rows of razor sharp, almost shark-life teeth. In combination with his unusual, blue tinted skin, and strange, gill-like features on his head, Kisame cut an incredibly intimidating, not to mention weird, figure.

"Ah now, Jiraiya, the pleasure is most definitely all mine. Although, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted to try and gut you where you sit - just to see if I can."

The Sannin glanced at the man's rather large sword out of the corner of his eye. It was an odd creation, wrapped totally in bandages, and almost as long and wide as most human beings are. A less experienced shinobi might decide to himself that it was impossible to wield effectively. Jiraiya knew better.

"You're still about a hundred years too young Kisame. Now, why are you here - Akatsuki business?" Somehow, the shark-like man's grin grew at the mention of Akatsuki.

"Itachi-san wasn't kidding, you really do have ears everywhere. I'm impressed, Akatsuki were hoping we would be able to stay under Konoha's radar for a little while yet. But no, this is not Akatsuki business, quite the opposite in fact." Kisame took a sip of the sake that Jiraiya had ordered in preparation of the meeting, and considered his next words carefully. He needed Jiraiya to trust him. "Itachi-san believes that the leader of Akatsuki is aware of his continued loyalty to Konoha, and intends to leave the organisation and lay low for a while - and I intend to leave with him. He and I have been rotated away from the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, so we can't guarantee his safety while remaining part of Akatsuki."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed dangerously at the mention of Naruto. Itachi had been tasked with spying on Akatsuki and keeping them from Naruto for as long as possible. Now, Naruto was at considerable risk.

"Explain. Now." Jiraiya's tone allowed for no argument, and even with his years of experience, and S-class abilities, Kisame felt a bead of sweat begin to trickle down his forehead, as Jiraiya's eyes bored into his own. The Sannin really was something else, he needed no actual killing intent to intimidate, he just exuded an intense sense of danger naturally that made Kisame's senses scream at him to flee the longer he stayed in the man's company. It made him feel alive - Jiraiya was the kind of enemy that he relished to fight above all others. Despite all this, instead of answering immediately, he threw Jiraiya a scroll.

"This has everything Itachi knows, an explanation about my own circumstances, and our plans from now. I can't stick around any longer. We need to have disappeared before Akatsuki realise we've gone and start sending people after us." Kisame stood up and picked up his sword and started to leave, before turning back, grin completely absent from his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto... He had better turn out to be something special. If not... he's as good as dead."

And with that, Kisame walked out of the tavern, leaving the Sannin to read, and consider.

* * *

Naruto paused as he allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloomy darkness of the attic space he found himself in. The genin was clearly the first to set foot in the room in a very long while. A heavy layer of dust coated the numerous boxes and odds and ends that filled the dank and musty room, and thick cobwebs, many of them themselves gathering dirt and dust, stretched between almost all of the gaps between boxes and furniture. Across the room Naruto could see the trapdoor into the East Wing itself; sheets of light escaping into the attic from below between the gaps in the floor and door, illuminating the dust that fell to the floor like dreary, grey snow.

Naruto took a deep breath, holding back a cough as he took in a mouthful of the room's musty aroma, and carefully began to make his way across the attic, eying the floor and room ahead of him carefully as he he walked. Suddenly, the blond froze, his body stiffly held in place like a statue.

Not even an inch in front of him, almost at eye level, was a paper thin, clear wire, stretched between the two stacks of boxes he was passing between. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding before passing underneath the wire, and quickly moved the rest of the way across the room, his eyes straining in the darkness even more than they had been before.

Of course they wouldn't leave the only other entrance to the building completely defenseless. That would be much too easy.

He paused at the trapdoor, and examined it for any obvious traps. Seeing none, he carefully pulled it open by no more than an inch, before wedging a kunai between the trapdoor and floor of the attic. Peering between the gap, Naruto found himself incredibly glad he had started to read up on designing and building traps, as well as spotting them in the field.

Attached to the trap door was another thin wire, that when pulled a certain amount, activated an alarm mechanism on the floor that Naruto could only barely make out from his vantage point. If he had opened the door much further, he would have set off the alarm. Fortunately, this kind of trap was relatively easy to circumnavigate. Reaching between the gap, being careful not to set the alarm off, he used the kunai he had wedged the door with the cut the wire, enabling him to safely open the trap door, and drop down into the room right at the back of the East Wing, and the first of the archive rooms he needed to search.

Immediately Naruto was forced to squint slightly as his eyes adjusted to the shock of such a brightly lit room after the incredibly dim attic, and the question as to exactly why this room would still have the lights in it turned on came into the blonde's mind almost instantly. He quickly glanced around the room to make sure he was alone, and darted quickly over the door, making sure to be aware of any potential booby traps as he did so, and backed up against it, pressing his ear against the wood of the door.

He couldn't hear any sound on the other side, which hopefully meant that no-one was really close to the door itself. However, the fact that the lights were still on made Naruto nervous. It meant that somebody could be using this room, and therefore would be back quite soon.

Reaching into his sleeve he took out yet another tool that Jiraiya had provided him with before they had separated. It was a small, stainless steel rod, about the size of a pencil, and affixed to the end was a small mirror. It was perfect for seeing round corners, and would allow Naruto to scout around outside the door to make sure nobody was in the immediate vicinity before he started searching the place.

Gently turning the brass door handle, he pulled it open slowly and carefully, somewhat surprised it hadn't been locked. With the door opened just a crack, he pushed the mirror through and used the reflection to peer down the corridor to his right. It seemed to stretch forever under the distortion of his mirror's slightly rounded surface, but Naruto could see the corridor was empty, and ended with large, oak double doors that led into the main hall of the mansion. Turning the mirror to check the other way, he was greeted with the sight of a wall, signifying the end of the corridor, and a very large portrait of an elderly man, traditionally dressed, and looking incredibly stern.

That meant his schematics were, at least so far, correct; and he had definitely dropped into the final archive room, which was by coincidence, the place that Naruto believed he would find the evidence he needed - the room furthest into the mansion, behind all of it's defenses.

That said, Naruto didn't think much of the defenses he'd come across so far. Traps designed to catch civilians, no patrols in the area of the mansion they likely keep sensitive and incriminating evidence, combined with poorly thought out guard placements outside, gave Naruto the distinct impression of a rank amateur's efforts. In any case, it was possible that the information he needed would just be spaced out normally and not particularly well hidden, given the state of the building's security.

Of course, he knew he couldn't afford not to be thorough, or to not remain completely alert. Not knowing what he did about the activities of these people. They needed to be taken down, and Naruto would play his role, and he aimed to play it perfectly.

Satisfied that he was safe to begin his search, he turned back to the first room he had to turn his attention too. It was incredibly plain, with dull, slightly grimy beige walls, and a dirtied and visibly stained brown carpet, reminding Naruto of the cheapness that pervaded through the classrooms at some of the civilian schools within Konoha that he had seen. Against the rear wall of the room was a small mahogany desk that didn't appear to have anything other than a small lamp and a desk tidy upon it; and lining the wall to his right, were seven gun metal grey filing cabinets, that Naruto presumed were what qualified this room's designation as an 'archive room'.

Sighing briefly, the blond approached the first cabinet, and opened the upper most drawer, revealing a space packed full of surprisingly well organised and labeled paper work. He began rifling, carefully checking the name's of each document for anything that sounded useful, or suspect. This, Naruto realised as he began the monotonous task, was going to be a long night, for entirely different reasons than he had first thought.

* * *

Naruto pushed the final drawer of the last filing cabinet in the room shut with a finality that was rather cathartic to the blond. He can only have been in the room for around half an hour - forty minutes at the most - yet, it had felt like he had spent several long and torturous hours meticulously rifling through the documents in this room with very little luck.

He wasn't even Hokage yet, and the Genin had already decided he hated paperwork with the white hot fury of a thousand suns. Or maybe just as much as he hated whatever sick bastard had decided it would be a good idea to make vegetarian ramen. It was just unnatural.

As he had expected, the kind of information he had been looking for hadn't been particularly well hidden, simply in with the rest of the documentation. The blond had found two documents of interest in this particular room. One, was a fairly ambiguous document referring to the transport of assets between sites in Tanzaku Gai, and place called Otogakure no Sato; which appeared to be a shinobi village Naruto hadn't heard of in his studies, which is one of the reasons it stood out to him as suspect. The second reason was the way it detailed the loss of some of the 'assets' during travel, and inspections from Gatou Corps 'employees'. It stunk of people trafficking to Naruto, and the refusal to explicitly mention what the 'assets' were, sealed the deal for him.

The second was a little easier to decipher, mainly because of a dead giveaway within the wording itself. It was so sloppy, it would have stunned even a much younger Naruto in it's stupidity. It spoke about an outbreak of STD's amongst a section of the employees stationed at their 'offices' in Sango Harbor, Kaze no Kuni, and how much of their 'goods' had to be disposed of.

Naruto had to forcefully bite back his anger as he read the second document in order to continue working. These people were despicable, absolutely unforgivable in his eyes, and it only served to strengthen his resolve that what he would do later tonight, was in fact, the right thing.

Gathering up the documents he needed, the blond took out a small scroll that once again, Jiraiya had given him before the went their separate ways. It was a basic sealing scroll in appearance, but was actually chakra locked to the Hokage and the ninja using it, so only they could open it and retrieve it's contents. In this case, Jiraiya had modified with it slightly, meaning Jiraiya would also be able to access it, should the worst happen. He opened it slightly, revealing the complex matrix of the fuinjutsu that would allow him to store the documents inside. He recognised the meaning of parts of it, both from his readings, and from it's similarities with more basic sealing scrolls, however the majority was lost on him, and vastly more complex than he was able to understand at his current level of knowledge.

He allowed himself a small smile. If he had any say in the matter, that definitely would not always be the case.

For now though, he had more pressing concerns. Placing the two documents over the centre of the seal design, he the placed his palm on a particular piece of the seal on the top right, and channeled his chakra into it. This was what was known as the 'activation matrix' that most sealing scrolls had - essentially, it worked like an 'on' switch, you channel your chakra into it, then whatever is in the centre of the main seal gets stored. To retrieve the item, you simply channel chakra to the same spot, and think of the item you wish to be unsealed.

This had initially confused him, as how could the seal know what it was you were thinking? Naruto still didn't quite understand if he was honest, because the answer was laced in chakra theory that was at this point, beyond him. However the gist of it was, that channeled chakra essentially contains an imprint of your will, or intentions. The seal is designed to be able to interpret those intentions, and respond to them appropriately. Needless to say, Naruto had been fascinated by the possibilities that might entail, but even more so, how that was even possible in the first place. As a result, Naruto's reading on chakra theory had redoubled over since his return from Sunagakure.

A small puff of smoke was all that signified the two documents had been sealed away, and Naruto returned the scroll to it's space hidden within the seam of his clothes, before moving over to the door. Just to be safe, despite having been undisturbed since his arrival, and not having heard anything to signal that the situation had changed; Naruto withdrew his mirror once more, and double checked the corridor for the presence of enemies before stepping out into the more open space, carefully opening and closing the door so as not to make a sound.

The corridor itself almost perfectly contrasted the room Naruto had just left. The cheap, sterile, office cubicle feel of the previous room was infinitely inferior to the apparently luxurious interior of the East Wing corridor. It was what Naruto had imagined when he had read reports stating that this was a western-style stately mansion. The floor was made from deep brown, and obviously very old, knotted oak floorboards, with a deep red carpet running through the centre of the corridor, all the way from the end of the hallway to the door. The walls covered in a forest green, wallpaper with gold trimmings, and lined with magnificently painted portraits of whom Naruto presumed to be the previous owners of the house.

It was impressive to say the least, and the blond had never seen anything like it, both in terms of luxury, and actual style; and, as a result, the Genin had to fight the urge to stick around and tr and take in as much of the sight as possible. He still had a job to do, after all.

Quickly making his way over to the door of the second archive room, all the while scanning for traps and finding none, he silently made his way inside, closing the door behind him. Looking around, he couldn't help but be disappointed at what he saw. It was a carbon copy of the previous archive room, except that instead of a desk, there were an extra pair of cabinets to sort through.

More paperwork. Every Kage's mortal enemy, if you were to believe the words of the Sandaime. Naruto was beginning to believe it was simply the nemesis of all ninja, or at least those who sought to become Kage's. Naruto chewed his bottom lip. He couldn't afford to be doing this for hours on end, there was simply too much risk involved in staying in one part of the building for too long. Yet, if they had sensors, he'd be in trouble almost as soon as he let up on his Naibu Shōten. This was one of those decisions that he knew he would need to learn to make if he was going to accomplish his goals. Life, and the lives of his comrades, and death; only, he couldn't be sure which choice would lead to which outcome.

Admittedly, the fact that it was only his own life on the line made it a little easier to be reckless.

Without so much as a seal, five Kage Bunshin appeared around him, and Naruto handed his sealing scroll the the one in the centre. The plan was for two Kage Bunshin to search each of the two remaining archive rooms, while another kept watch in the corridor itself, disguised by transforming into an object to blend in . The one keeping watch would be able to dispel itself when danger approached, subsequently warning the four Bunshin searching the archives, giving them time to hide. They would store everything the found in the scroll, and all but one would dispel themselves when they were done - the final one meeting him on the roof with the stored information.

The original meanwhile, would set accomplishing about his _other_ task for the night.

Seeing his Bunshin get started on their work without so much as a word, Naruto himself turned and walked back out into the corridor and briskly moved to the large double doors at the end of it. Pausing briefly to listen for noises on the other side, he caught something out of the corner of his eye, above him, on the wall to his left.

A grill.

Naruto almost slapped his own forehead in despair that he hadn't though of this before. A ventilation system would be the ideal way to navigate the Main Hall, without being seen by any guards. Channeling chakra to his hands and feet, he began to scale the wall as though he was some kind of insect crawling up it, and reached for the vent cover as soon as he was able to reach. Much to Naruto's surprise, it simply popped of, fairly quietly, and with ease. Not only that, but as he peered into the darkened vent, he realised that it would be more than big enough for him to crawl through. For one of the first times that night, the blond grinned, and began to climb in.

Fortune, after all, does indeed favor the bold.

* * *

Sarutobi seethed silently as he read over the formal petition his two advisers had placed before him on behalf of the civilian council. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had been on his own Genin team when he had first become a shinobi, and were both incredibly dear to him as friends and trusted advisers. However, they were both far more militant than he, and as a result, had began to clash on many issues over the years. Homura held much sway with the shinobi population, having spent far more time as a Jonin that either of his team mates, and had served a long stint in charge of the ANBU. Koharu on the other hand retired relatively early, and began a career as a politician, building up esteem with the civilian council, eventually becoming it's representative in dealing with the Hokage and shinobi matters.

Both held serious political capital, and more than ever, he wished his position as Hokage allowed him to tell the entire council to, as one of his students Tsunade had put it, all those years ago, 'kiss his wrinkly ass'.

Alas, such thoughts were out of the question, and the proposal they had forwarded had been the first time in a great many years his frustration at the council had threatened to become genuine anger.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The two advisers exchanged glances. It had been several years since Sarutobi had earnestly allowed his anger to spill over into the demeanor he presented to themselves and the wider public, and they had nearly forgotten quite how formidable the aging Hokage could be when he was, both on the battlefield, and politically.

"Please understand." Homura began, his voice considerably tighter and more reserved than normal. "This was not our doing. Both Koharu and myself tried to dissuade the council from taking this to you and to desist from pursuing this action. Despite our disagreements over the years on how Uzumaki-san is handled due to his...unique circumstances, we have no actual problem with the child. Our faith in the Yondaime's seal is as resolute as your own. But the civilian side was almost entirely unanimous in it's support for the petition, and several key figures amongst the shinobi are now involved. It holds to much sway for even your position to brush aside."

A glance over the names over the petition had already confirmed this fact for Sarutobi. Several prominent main branch Hyuga, some well ranked ANBU, and several other members of some of village's more important clan's.

"We believe... That Danzou may be orchestrating this." This time it was Koharu who spoke, her words eliciting a soft curse from the Sandaime.

The petition was a simple one.

It was a petition to have Sarutobi push one Uzumaki Naruto into accepting being adopted by one of the village's major families in order to restrict his movements, place him under a constant guard, and keep him contained in the village.

The preferred choice of guardian was of course one Shimura Danzou. The man had been another friend, and a staunch rival for the position of Hokage in their youth. However, Danzou's motivations had become more and more suspect as time went by. He had once commanded his own personal black ops force, and Sarutobi suspected he still did; not to mention rumors of dealings with the likes of Orochimaru, and their hand in many un-approved assassinations and missions over the years.

Nastier rumors in recent years had begun to spread, however. And words such as 'coup', and 'rebellion' were finding their way into his intelligence even more. Danzou, Sarutobi feared, had become the enemy within. And now, he wished to try and use Naruto, or rather the power he held. Take him in, train and indoctrinate him, set him loose and seize power; or at least, that was the theory.

Obviously, Sarutobi could not just refuse to do anything. The civilian council could make life incredibly difficult for Naruto, refusing him access to shops, facilities, and banking, and evicting him from his homes, in order to force his hand. The support of some of the more prominent shinobi meant that the chances of his promotion, and working on some of the more important and career influencing missions could be restricted. For you see, it wasn't only the Hokage who did such things. Assigning missions for a shinobi force numbering many thousands of ninja, meant that such tasks were delegated.

Field promotions, assigning ninja to career and reputation vital diplomatic missions, among other things, were carried out by shinobi that, although he had picked, were not beyond influence.

In short, Naruto's life could potentially get very difficult, very fast. He didn't even have to be in the village. The danger was, that given time to work through the messy politics of the village, the civilian council could transfer guardianship of Naruto to Danzou without the permission of Sarutobi, since it was not _technically_ as shinobi matter, which would be disastrous.

Sarutobi was left with one option, something that he had been hoping to put off until the danger posed by the Chunin Exams was through. Reveal the boy's heritage, and allow him to take up his position as the head of the Uzumaki clan. Naruto had already proven himself more than responsible enough to cope, and more than mature enough to show adequate restraint when given full access to some of his Father's more...volatile ideas.

Doing so would not prevent people from seeking guardianship in search of the prestige that would come with it, but it would remove the support for the petition, and Danzou's position as the prime candidate, as other families decide to compete for it.

In essence, a divide and conquer maneuver. Splinter the support for Danzou into easily ignorable factions. The downside being, that Naruto becomes a high priority target for anyone with a grudge when the village opens it's gates for the Chunin exam.

In the end, it would be Naruto's decision, it wouldn't be right for Sarutobi to reveal all without giving Naruto the chance to choose his own fate. The Hokage would just have to flex some political muscle, and stall until the blond's return.

"Fortunately, there are laws and circumstances that affect Naruto that circumvent even the wills of the respective councils. He is currently on assignment, and will not be back for a few days." Sarutobi started, his eyes narrowed at no foe in particular, the devious nature of this attempt to supplant his authority as Hokage, and condemn one of his shinobi to serving under a man such as Danzou. "Until he has returned, it is absolutely imperative that we prevent the council, and Danzou from forcing the issue any further. I can not say any more, but there is information that only myself and a few others are privy to that mean this absolutely can not be allowed to happen."

The two retired shinobi before him exchanged glances, holding some kind of silent dialogue between themselves, a feat only possible through teamwork honed by many years fighting alongside one another.

"You have our trust and commitment, Sarutobi my old friend, you know this." Homura spoke in a warm, friendly voice, as if to support his words as he spoke them; but it was Koharu who continued where her team mate left off.

"These circumstances Sarutobi, they refer of course to the boys parentage."

It was not a question, and if possible, the atmosphere in the room thickened even more, as the Hokage's piercing gaze was turned towards the advisers themselves.

"How long have you known - and how?"

"I rather wish we could say that we've known for a long while, given how obvious it seems when looking at the boy in hindsight, but we only began to suspect after Chunin Mizuki's betrayal. Uzumaki-san's reported accomplishments that night began to change our... preconceptions regarding the boy and his talents and value. Once we could look past those notions, look underneath the underneath, as I believe Hatake-san is want to say, his parentage became rather obvious to both of us."

It was Koharu who spoke, her tone as stern and firm as ever; however Sarutobi, having known the woman for decades, easily picked up on the subtle hint of regret and apology that colored her words. He could find no insincerity in them, an none of the disdain for Naruto that she had held not even six months ago.

"You understand the level of secrecy behind this, and the consequences for revealing this information?." At the confirmation of his two advisers, Sarutobi pressed on. "Naruto himself is aware, and we have discussed the options regarding revealing his heritage. With everything going on, I had decided to hold off until after the Chunin exams, but if Danzou is going to force our hand, we'll press ahead the second he gets in the village."

"His position as heir of the Namikaze wouldn't allow him to circumvent the council as easily, being a minor clan who had very little influence within the village. The Uzumaki clan on the other hand, owns a fair amount of businesses within the village. Those under the patronage of the Uzumaki wouldn't be able to risk losing Naruto's support, which would make it impossible to put Naruto under enough pressure to accept a guardianship. We'll reveal his heritage, and have him accept his seats as the head of both the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans."

Privately, Sarutobi didn't believe it possible to put Naruto under enough pressure to accept being placed under somebody else's care. If they evicted him - he would camp out, stop him buying food - he would hunt and forage, prevent him from banking - he'd find another way to safeguard his possessions. However, as Hokage, he would not allow one of his ninjas to be treated in such a way; not only that, but denying the boy diplomatically important missions would prevent him from building a reputation amongst the politically important figures of the elemental nations, which was vital for one who wished to become a Kage - something the current holder of the position truly believed Naruto was capable of.

"We shall stall the council for as long as we can, Hiruzen, you have our word."

* * *

Jiraiya's face was grim as he read the scroll given to him by the shark-like Akatsuki member. An organisation of S-class criminals, monstrously strong shinobi, banded together with the sole purpose of capturing all nine of the bijuu - including the Kyuubi. The Sannin wondered how Naruto would take it when he broke the news to him. He was getting harder and harder to predict emotionally, truer to his actual feelings, as opposed to how he thought other people expected him to act.

You never know, he might even show a morsel of apprehension before leaping back into his training. And pigs flew.

But now, _those three_ had joined, and immediately requested to be assigned to capturing Naruto. Their request had been granted, and at the same time, Itachi had been forced to remove himself from the group. He had been their plant - Jiraiya's source - into Akatsuki's movements. Now he had nothing, and Itachi and Kisame couldn't even be used as manpower, until Akatsuki had reduced their efforts in catching the two traitors.

The chunin exams, Akatsuki, Orochimaru, the Kyuubi, Danzou... So many individual factors, all moving and progressing at once, incredibly quickly; looming over the horizon, threatening to strike at the walls of the village all at once.

It would be a hideous stroke of misfortune, if all the things that threatened his village came to a boil at once - then again, that did seem to be just like Jiraiya's luck.

They wouldn't, of course. Akatsuki seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, gathering information, setting themselves up. Naruto had time to grow before he had to face them. Danzou on the other hand was already hard at work within his own village, scrounging support, planting his twisted seeds amongst otherwise loyal ninja. He didn't have nearly enough manpower to threaten anything, but the Sannin thought the scarred man capable of pulling it off. But again, they had time.

That made Orochimaru's interference at the Chunin Exams first priority. Sarutobi-sensei refused to believe it possible, but Jiraiya was convinced that Suna was involved in someway. Their delegation was much larger than normal, and patrol routines and guard postings had been slowly changing over a period of week.

And that's not even mentioning the unbalanced Genin Jinchuriiki they were throwing in amongst the proverbial hens.

Naturally, Naruto was going to fight. Trouble clung to the blond like an unpleasant odor, and followed him for even longer. He didn't really have much choice. He had to be good enough to stop the Sunagakure container. Leaving snake-face to Jiraiya, hoping the rest of the village can hold out.

Hell, maybe he could get 'Bunta that snake skin wallet after all.

* * *

**Urgh. Ran out of steam and inspiration, so a cut-off was needed. So close to the milestone it makes me want to end myself, but I refuse to sacrifice (what I hope is)good, for a higher word count.**

* * *

**Translations and Minor Notes regarding the 'Naruto World'**

Otogakure - Village Hidden by Sound

Kaze no Kuni - Land of Wind

Sunagakure - Sunagakure no Sato - Village Hidden in the Sand, Gaara's home village, y'all know the deal with Suna.

Sango Harbor - A relatively large harbor on the southern coast of Kaze no Kuni (Literally: Coral Harbor). It should be noted that I'm using a fan made map I found on deviant Art as my basis for the Naruto world but only as far as the country's relative locations to each other. As such, towns I've created for the story won't be on there. I'm mapping out everything as I go to avoid an mistakes and plot holes, and everywhere that bears major significance to the story will be described and explained properly as soon as it becomes immediately necessary or relevant. Of course, if you have questions and such, PM me, and I'll be happy to respond.


	25. And Now for the Hard Part

**100,000! Finally! What an absolute monster of a milestone for me. It feels goooood man, however long it's taken.  
**

**Hope you've all enjoyed the ride so far, as well as this next chapter! Chunin Exams are on their way, very, very soon!**

* * *

_Chapter 25  
_

_...And Now for the Hard Part  
_

* * *

Naruto wiped his brow heavily with the sleeve of his shirt, cleaning it of the gritty combination of dirt and dust and sweat that had begun to gather there as he crawled his way through the filthy ventilation shaft. It was stupidly hot and humid, and the material of his clothes was started to take on rather more sweat than was entirely comfortable.

Truthfully, he was starting to wish he had just burst through the door and started kicking ass.

Still, the exit grill was just up ahead, and he was supposed to be a proper, mature shinobi now; regardless of how much the adrenaline was starting to wear on him, and make him want to start beating on thugs and possibly maybe blowing things up. Okay, that was a lie, he was definitely really eager to blow something up at this point. Either way, he buried the urge as deep as he could, took a deep breath, and started to push on once again towards the exit.

He peered through the inch-thick gaps in the grill in front of him, straining his eyes to their limits to try and be sure there would be nobody within earshot of him as he performed the unfortunately noisy task of popping the grill off of the wall.

Not a soul.

Naruto frowned. He was glad, for sure - I mean, it certainly made his job a lot easier - but this place was supposed to be well secured, manned by many mercenary guards. It was the headquarters of what was, despite Gatou's death, an international crime syndicate. Except that the place was dead. He hadn't even caught a whisper of the presence of the guards, besides the stragglers patrolling outside. It was peculiar - the de facto boss of this syndicate was sleeping in the tower room that was a few steps and a flight of stairs away, a man who was well aware that he had a price on his head, unlike Gatou who was on the surface at least, an ostensibly respectable businessmen (albeit a slimy one); and yet, the security here was weak, non-existent, _pathetic._

It put Naruto on edge. It was a feeling he had gotten well acquainted with on his first C-rank mission, traveling through that valley that made his team easy targets for an ambush. His instincts screamed at him, _demanded_ that he take action, because something was simply _not right. _

A sudden rush of memories focused his mind anew, snapping him out of his moment of almost frantic thinking, trying to figure out what was going on. It wouldn't have helped either way, hiding in a ventilation shaft would achieve nothing other than giving those conspicuously absent guards an opportunity to make an appearance and complicate his job. Regardless of anything else, the dispersal of all but one of his Kage Bunshin notified him that his C-rank mission was now accomplished, provided he made it out of here alive. He had the necessary information.

He gripped the grimy metal of the vent, and gave a single firm shove, detaching the metal from the wall with an uncomfortably loud clang. After a moments pause to ensure that nobody had heard the noise, he leapt to the ground in front of the stairwell leading to the tower his target resided in, and gently placed the grill on the floor, before cautiously moving up the spiraled staircase.

The blond moved utterly silently, hugging the inside wall to give himself that little bit of extra cover should anyone be coming down the relatively narrow stairway during his ascent, but once again, Naruto found himself more than slightly disturbed at the lack of protection. No guards, or defenses of any kind - not even the meagre traps that were lain to protect the secondary entrance to the building could be found defending the room of the man that now ran the entire organisation - and before long, Naruto was at the thick oak door to the man's room, unsure about which disturbed him more; the fact that he was about to kill, or the idea that his count for being ambushed whilst on a mission was about to reach two out of two.

The pause however, was only momentary, and a steadying breath was all Naruto needed to gather the courage to reach for the door nob, and silently enter the room. Konoha needed this to be done, and someone was going to have to do it. The only choice Naruto could make regarding this man's death was whether or not to take on the responsibility himself, so that others wouldn't have to. He knew that killing would almost definitely irreparably damage him, wound his soul in a way that nothing else could. But more damaging would be the effect of leaving it for someone else to do, allowing a comrade, or a friend bear that wound in his place. It was simply unacceptable to him.

The man was sleeping. Peacefully too. Wrapped in brilliant white sheets, lying on his side, breathing surprisingly easily for a man who was at least six foot tall, and really quite heavily built. Naruto tried to swallow and take a deep breath to calm himself but found his mouth suddenly bone dry; yet at the same time, he could feel his palms and brow practically drip with an ice cold nervous sweat.

Glancing down to the hand that tentatively gripped his kunai, he was momentarily pleased to discover that he wasn't shaking, but his attention returned almost immediately to the man sleeping blissfully in front of his in the gloom of the room. Blissfully sleeping. Blissfully _alive._

The movement was smooth, practiced, and lightning fast; the blond's gut taking over, and for the first time since graduation, he acted on pure instinct, without thinking, for he knew he could have stood and debated internally over killing the man all night. So he acted, drove his kunai into the sternum and downwards, puncturing the man's heart in a way that would kill him painlessly and bloodlessly, his other hand pressed against the man's mouth to deaden the reflexive scream.

Kage Bunshin had given him the time he needed to train the action into that of a practiced assassin. Fluid, fast, and flawless.

But Naruto had no time to think, no time to ponder or reflect, because the reason for his easy path to the target revealed himself.

"Very, _very_ impressive." The voice came from behind him, deep and gravelly, and definitely belonging to an older man.

The blond tried to turn and adopt a defensive position, but with speed that could only indicate a vastly powerful enemy, Naruto was prevented by two searing hot strikes that crashed through his shoulder blades, and almost caused him to pass out from the pain before he realised what had even been done to him.

A pair of short swords, Tanto from what Naruto's pain hazed mind could gather, had pierced him from behind and pinned him to the weak brickwork on the walls, and left him unable to move even slightly from his position without causing himself nigh on unbearable pain.

"And you are still conscious, too. Magnificent, even for a Jinchuuriki." The final word alone cut through to Naruto's mind, and the shock of hearing it was the jolt that the blond had needed to claw his way back into something close to clear thought. He knew what he was, which meant he was from Konoha...

"You... The enemy within... You're a Konoha shinobi!" Naruto's voice was weak, and tired, yet still somehow managed to be accusatory.

"Enemy? No, child. Everything I do, I do for the benefit of Konoha. I love the village just as much as my old friend Hiruzen. It is just that out methods... differ."

"Funny, I hadn't really noticed, but now you mention it, you're right - the old man never really seemed to be into coming at young boys from behind..." Naruto bit back uncharacteristically, his anger at whoever this man was comparing himself to the Sandaime lighting a fire within him, his anger and adrenaline allowing him to act with far more energy than he actually had.

"Such... wit. It's clear you have already begun to take on some of your Master's less desirable qualities... No matter. It is time we dispensed of the pleasantries. I came for two reasons, firstly to get a measure of your progress, and secondly, to deliver a message. Soon, Uzumaki Naruto, you will have to make a choice. The shadows, or the light; Konoha's future, or it's destruction; to live by the naive ideals of the previous Hokage, or to do what you must to protect the village. Choose incorrectly, Uzumaki, and I will guarantee that you will die. By the hands of Root, or Konoha's enemies. Decide wisely, Naruto, for there will not be a second chance."

And with that, the man made no further sound, and Naruto could detect no further hint of his presence; and finally, Naruto felt the last traces of adrenaline that was coursing through him abandon him, and he very nearly slumped to the floor in exhaustion, regardless of the blades pinning him to the wall, which would have resulted in what would quite possibly be a career ending injury.

He took a raspy, gurgling breath, and steeled himself even as warm blood trickled from the two wounds in his back, soaking the fabric of his black clothing - even as he coughed up even more of the thick, red liquid. Naruto knew this meant he was bleeding internally, and that his airways had been damaged. The blades themselves however, hadn't struck those areas, which meant they had been augmented with chakra, and it was that chakra that had done the damage. This in turn meant that the wounds would not heal so easily, and anybody but a Jinchuuriki likely would have already bled out and died at this point.

As it was, it was only the regenerative abilities that came with being the container of the Kyuubi keeping him alive, or even just awake enough to escape.

Most infuriatingly however, Naruto thought, was the fact that the man had known all of this. He wasn't even trying to kill the blond. Which meant that couldn't even claim escaping as a small victory.

He pressed both his shaking hands against the wall he was pinned to, as though he was about to do a press up, and began to steady his breathing in preparation for the pain he knew was about to come.

A strangled cry erupted from Naruto as he forced himself back from the wall, pulling the blades from the stone using the hilts against his back to ensure that he didn't just slide over them, causing himself even more damage. He staggered back once free from the wall, and fought momentarily to keep his balance, as pain and exhaustion-induced wooziness threatened to topple him.

His teeth ground as he fought through the pain to keep himself silent, even as he knew the very next part would hurt even more. Gripping the right blade in front of him between both his palms, held flat together as though he were praying, he pushed it back and out of him, and it clattered to the floor in a frenzy of blood, and crashing steel.

Moments later, Naruto joined it, bleeding heavily - albeit not as much as he likely should have been - and Naruto's only thought beyond the pain questioned his odds of making it back to Jiraiya in this state.

A brief respite was all he allowed himself before he readied his hands to repeat the process with the remaining blade - and pushed once more. This time, a strangled cry made it past his firmly gritted teeth, and finally tears of pain began to well in the blonde's eyes, the blurring of his vision letting Naruto know he had almost passed out from his efforts.

Breathing heavy, ragged breaths, he dragged himself to the bed and sat on the floor, leaning against it, his eyes locked on the frighteningly large splatters of _his _blood. Naruto's brain was racing. First, he needed to do something about the bleeding; then, he needed to get out of here, because there was no chance that he's be able to leave the same way he'd entered undiscovered - not with wounds like his.

He could feel his heart pounding furiously at his chest, pumping blood around his body in what would soon be a vain effort to cling to life, should Naruto not move soon; the effort ironically pushing him closer and closer to death as he lost more and more blood. He reached for the bedsheets on the bed above him, and clumsily tore them into strips, all the while fighting the urge to close his eyes and sleep, a move that would guarantee his death.

He wrapped the sheets around his abdomen tightly, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood from the wounds, each layer staining red almost as soon as he placed it upon himself. Eventually satisfied, he heaved himself to is feet, the effort very nearly too much for his exhausted body, and shuffled cautiously to the room's only window.

Without chakra, it would have been a stupendously difficult twenty foot vertical climb down. However, Naruto _did _have chakra, as he had barely used any for the mission itself, and so lowering himself out of the window to climb down the wall was far less daunting than perhaps it should have been with wounds such as his.

Despite that, he hadn't been prepared for the pain. The effort of supporting himself on the wall strained his stomach and back muscles, and subsequently the wounds; and very quickly, every inch of progress resulted him slipping ever further towards total exhaustion. Every step he took resulted in pain wracking his body, and made maintaining the concentration required to stay attached to the wall ever more difficult.

Being fair, Naruto's chakra control had never been all that in the first place.

The blond was only vaguely aware of it when it happened. Pain, tiredness, and the gradual slowing of his own heartbeat were the only things he had known during the climb that seemed to be lasting forever. That, and the only thing, the only goal he could keep his mind focused on. Keeping himself on that wall. Yet, he was only really aware that he was falling after a few seconds of freefall.

He never noticed that he had only made it a few feet down the wall before his body had given in.

Even as he fell, he could feel the acceptance course through him. He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. His last fleeting thought was that, all things being fair, he was probably going to hell. The last thing he had ever done on this earth, his very last act of any significance, had been to kill a man in his sleep.

And finally, after an eternity, the bone shattering impact with... Something soft, and bouncy? Something, that Naruto couldn't help but think was strangely familiar.

"I swear - like father, like son. He never had a normal mission either. Right from the second he first left the village, it was freakishly strong enemies, or being heavily outnumbered deep in enemy territory every damn time."

Jiraiya sighed, though Naruto never heard it, having let unconsciousness take him.

"Cut me up just as badly whenever he ended up in a bad way, too. Let's get you patched up, kid. Can't have our future Hokage dying from blood loss now, can we?"

* * *

"Ah, Naruto-chan! Feeling better I take it?"

Naruto froze, one foot still in the small bedroom that he had spent the last week resting in, the other halfway out of the window that had taunted him with exotic glimpses of the legendary Mt. Myoboku ever since he had regained consciousness.

Smiling wryly, Fukasaku, whom Jiraiya had introduced as the Elder Toad and also a summon more powerful than Gamabunta himself, despite also being one of the most elderly, waved dismissively.

"Then go! Explore away! You have already earned enough respect amongst the toads by the way you have treated those you have summoned, and the promise you show as a warrior, so you will encounter no problems from the other toads venturing out yourself. In fact, how about I give you the guided tour? We can even have a spar - see how your recovery has been coming along?"

Naruto grinned, and eagerly accepted the offer. The Elder Toad and his wife, Shima, had been obscenely kind to Naruto during his stay, and had used their unique medical techniques to help him recover much faster than he would have in Konoha. Needless to say, he had grown incredibly fond of the pair, and they had even taken to helping him work on what he could whilst he rested - Shima had worked on Fuuinjutsu with him, a specialty of the toads, and taught him some incredibly useful seals, as well as tutoring him on constructing original seals, and general fuuinjutsu theory.

Fukasaku on the other hand, had gotten him meditating whilst he rested, trying to focus on feeling out his chakra. It was a unique method of learning chakra control which was particularly suited to those with large chakra reserves, albeit being more difficult. Traditionally, a shinobi would learn to control their chakra by learning to precisely control the amount of chakra they expended when performing an action, practicing being able to draw on less and less, and more and more exact amounts, until they had perfect control.

Jinchuriiki in particular found this difficult, especially those sealed properly, because of the sheer potency of their own chakra, the amount they possessed, and the small amount of their bijuu's chakra that was always present in their system.

Fukasaku's method instead focused on getting to know one's own chakra intimately. Learning it's feel, the way it flowed, molded, and circulated; until one could manipulate it finitely, instinctively. This was ideal for Naruto, as it meant that he would eventually be able to identify the traces of the Kyuubi's chakra by their feel and filter it from his system when he uses his chakra. If normal chakra control was comparable to controlling the amount of water flow from a tap, then Fukasaku's method seemed to be the equivalent of learning to draw directly from the water tank with a syringe.

Should he master the technique, his control could rival that of most ninja; potentially, after years and years of work, though unlikely because of his tenant, he could reach the levels of control a medical ninja has.

Either way, that was a long way off. For now, Naruto was simply enjoying the sights, and the sensations of being on his feet again. Mt Myoboku was a truly extraordinary, and unique place. Towering mushrooms, plants and flowers bursting with vivid colours - striking reds, purples, pinks, and oranges - the place was literally bursting with life. Birds as colourful and varied as the plants hovered and buzzed about the place, and insects both as tiny as ants, and as large and lumbering as elephants scratched and scurried in and out of the fauna - even the biggest somehow inexplicably disappearing from sight once they entered the thick undergrowth.

However, Naruto was not one for long periods of peace and relaxation, and the offer of a spar with one of the Elder Toads was a burning itch at the back of his mind that grew and grew as the time passed.

"So, Fukasaku-sama," Naruto began, trying and failing to appear as casual as possible. The Elder simply chuckled heartily.

"It's been too long since we've had a summoner quite as lively as you Naruto-chan. Even Jiraiya had _some _restraint. I've been able to sense your agitation for at least twenty minutes." The toad leapt from his spot upon Naruto's shoulder, and assumed an easy taijutsu stance in front of the blond. "What you don't seem to realise, however, is that I've been itching to spar you since you awoke, Naruto-chan. Beating on youngsters is a favorite past-time of mine, young one. Now, show me this new taijutsu style Jiraiya has told me all about. If it impresses, I may teach you the beginnings of Kawazu Kumite to add to it."

The benefits of being healed by the toads of Mt Myoboku included, according Fukasaku, included the prevention of stiffness, and muscle deterioration - you should be able to get up and go as soon as you're fully healed and rested, and Naruto certainly felt it, as he launched himself at the Elder Toad by way of a response to his taunts and struck out with a swift sweeping kick.

The Toad parried with frightening ease, one handed, confident smile upon his face, never breaking eye contact with the blond; before darting forward inside Naruto's guard and leaping up to head height and attacking with a series of acrobatic punches and kicks of impressive power, that had the Genin furiously backpedaling, dodging and blocking at speeds he had never really been forced into before, and it wasn't long before he had begun to sweat lightly.

Fukasaku needed only to touch lightly upon the ground with one foot, before launching himself again at Naruto, delivering another barrage of relentless attacks. And it was this moment, that Naruto decided to capitalize upon, driving forward just as the toad launched towards him, resulting in the amphibian overshooting the jump, giving Naruto the time to create a Kage Bunshin that launched itself off the shoulder of the blond, right at the toad, attempting to deliver it's own set of attacks.

However, Fukasaku was one step ahead, and spun in the air, catching the blond with a crashing roundhouse kick, dispelling it instantaneously.

Naruto and another Bunshin pounced the moment Fukasaku hit the ground, trying to attack before the toad had set himself, but he hadn't accounted for the anatomy of the Elder, as he used the springy nature of his rear legs to immediately launch himself right through the middle of the Bunshin with a single two fisted blow. He hadn't however, expected Naruto's next move, a Kaminari Muchi wrapping itself round his ankle, dragging him back towards the blond, off-balance, and unable to set up an attack.

He smiled internally. He was holding back, of course, but all modesty aside, he was incredibly powerful, and Naruto seemed to be coping admirably for one of his experience and age. His technique and form were obviously well practiced, and for the most part flawless; and his taijutsu style, or rather the way it was created out of small parts other styles that meshed well together, seemed to accentuate the blond's natural unpredictability.

Fukasaku was fast enough to compensate without the blond realizing he was doing it, but more than once already he had set himself to block a right hook, only to find Naruto lashing out with a left-legged roundhouse and so on. It spoke well of Naruto's instincts and knowledge that he had been able to piece together such an effective style out of the most basic parts of others, and then go on to use it to it's fullest potential.

Good fortune willing, and with a lot of hard work, there would be few ninja capable of standing up to Uzumaki Naruto in a few years. Unfortunately for him, most of those ninja also happened to be in Akatsuki.

Still, the toads had already pledged to Jiraiya to help in any way he can, and the Elder certainly intended to do his part to ensure that Naruto survive what was to come.

The punch that Naruto had primed, met the arm of Fukasaku, and the toad used the momentum Naruto had provided in order to spin in mid air, landing a heavy blow with his heel that sent Naruto tumbling back along the grounds, nursing a bruised jaw.

"Very good my boy, very good!" The toad exclaimed overly cheerfully, even as the Genin dragged himself to his feet, muttering under his breath. "As you know, Jiraiya-chan left to report to the Hokagbout your successful missions. What he didn't tell you, however, is that he has asked me if I would be willing to whip you into shape for the Chunin exams that are coming up - I hear you have a tough opponent after your head, my boy. Whaddya say? A two week, all round, intensive training course under the famed Toads of Mt Myoboku? Or is that too much for you to handle, Naruto-chan?"

Naruto grinned and assumed an easy taijutsu stance.

"A better question, _Old Man_, is whether or not you can handle _me_ for that long."

* * *

_One Week Later_

Hana slumped to the floor, another day of back breaking work finally over. Her spar with Naruto had been a bit of an eye opener for her, in all honesty.

She hadn't held back.

She, in the end, had gone at Naruto with every thing she had, and he had brushed her aside at a canter. He of course had said otherwise. He was much too kind not to have done so, but she knew it was true nonetheless. Of course, she had accepted that in out and out fights, because of her role as a medic, and all the extra training that brings, she would fall behind as a combatant slightly because her role was different.

But Naruto had been a newly minted Genin. She had been taking missions for three years. Granted, Naruto worked freakishly hard, and was a natural fighter, but even so, Hana's showing in her opinion, had been dismal.

And so, she had vowed to get better; and, only a week ago now, she had been given another source of motivation - she was to be partnered with Naruto, who didn't have a team, for the Chunin exams, and only had a fortnight to prepare.

There was now way she could let Naruto down after the way he had fought on their first mission together, and given her recent ponderings, she felt as though she needed to prove herself a capable fighter as well as medic, if not to the rest of Konoha, then to herself. The week had passed, and during it, she had thrown herself into training with her old sensei and her mother, determined that she would be better, both for herself, and for Naruto.

* * *

Shikamaru grimaced as he blocked a fierce punch from Asuma, and stepped back out of range of the follow up kick.

Naruto's warning had been brief, a small uttered sentence as they passed on the street. Dangerous enemy. Chunin exams. Be ready. But that had been enough for Shikamaru to take heed. The blond was uncharacteristically serious as he spoke, and the genuine worry that he practically radiated was so out of place on Naruto that Shikamaru decided that it was likely that not increasing his own level of training again would be the more troublesome of his options.

So a word in Asuma's ear about it, and Team 10's training had gone up yet another excruciating notch. Worryingly, Asuma seemed to understand the blond's vague warning, which meant that whatever Naruto had been talking about, was severe enough to be a threat to village security, and as the Nara had decided would be the thing to expect from Naruto, the blond was sure to at the fore whenever whatever _it_ was, struck.

The only thing Nara Shikamaru knew for certain, was that _this _time, he would be standing alongside his friend when it did happened.


	26. The Chunin Exams I

**The reception to this story, the reviews, the PMs - everything. It never fails to amaze me, and I'll never stop being grateful for it. I'm not the best writer, and my story is regularly littered with errors and mistakes, and my updates are sporadic at best, yet people still follow it; I still get impassioned PMs from people who genuinely care about the story and it's characters. You're all amazing.  
**

* * *

_Chapter 26_

_The Chunin Exams I_

* * *

"Naruto-kun! It's wonderful to see back in the village safe and sound finally." Naruto grinned widely and warmly in response to the Hokage's enthusiastic greeting as he entered the old man's office along with Jiraiya. "And it's good to see you using the front door like everybody else," the elderly Kage added, wry smile on his face as he began to prepare his pipe.

"I gotta say old man, it's good to be back." Naruto answered, the earnest grin never faltering as he replied.

And he really was glad to be back, too. Of course, his time with the toads had been brilliant, and he had learned more than he had ever thought was possible in two weeks; but this had been the longest time he had ever been away from the village, and he had really started to miss the place.

And then there was the fact that the competitors for the Chunin exams had already arrived, something Jiraiya had informed him two days ago. From that moment on, Naruto had been desperate to leave for Konoha, but Fukasaku had been adamant that he stayed and made as much progress as possible in the time he had. But try as he might, Naruto couldn't shake the fear that Gaara would attack somebody whilst he wasn't there.

Being rational, it was a ridiculous thing to fear. ANBU would be monitoring all foreign shinobi, and there was nothing he could do to stop Gaara, that the ANBU squad that would likely be assigned to monitor a foreign Jinchuuriki couldn't. But the worry ate away at him still. He just had to be there for his friends. It was who he was, he supposed.

The Hokage smiled in response, before schooling his features into what Naruto liked to call his 'Hokage-face'. It was the face he put on during mission briefings and meeting, the face of a strong and wise leader; and Naruto immediately straightened up, knowing that the pleasantries were officially done with.

"Now, Jiraiya has already provided me with full mission reports from the both of you, and I congratulate you on the completion of your missions, Naruto. You have gone further for this village than anybody should have the right to, and performed exceptionally to boot. You should know, that as of yesterday morning, our shinobi struck at all the major bases from which Gatou Corporation operated across the elemental nations - the locations of which your intel provided us with. The company's illegal operations have been decimated, and for all intents and purposes are no more."

Naruto bowed his head slightly to acknowledge the praise, but didn't allow himself a smile, or to interrupt. This was obviously not the main piece of information the Hokage was about to impart.

"However," Sarutobi started, exhaling a steady stream of pipe smoke before pressing on. "Given how your mission finished, and since that you have been highlighted as a potential target, I feel you deserve an explanation - and an opportunity to take part in something which at this point involves only those that I trust beyond all others." Naruto couldn't help but widen his eyes at the implications of those words, and how they related to their conversation during the mission briefing the last time he saw the old man.

The threat from within.

"Jiraiya has told you nothing at my request, but the truth is, we know precisely who attacked you - and he resides within this very village. In fact, he is a prominent member on the civilian council, as well as a former shinobi and a very influential figure amongst Konoha's military forces. His name is Shimura Danzou."

Naruto's breath caught. He _knew_ that name. Obviously, the man wasn't legendary in the same way as the Sandaime is, or the Sannin, or even Hatake Kakashi - but he was still a prominent figure in Konoha's history. Rival to Sarutobi, and a shinobi that worked under the Nidaime Hokage and had influential roles in several of the most prominent battles in two different shinobi world wars.

More recently, Naruto knew his as someone he had often seen going into Sarutobi's offices for meetings and discussions. He was seriously important within the village, and held an enormous amount of sway.

Too much of course, for anyone to be able to accuse him of attacking the blond, as Naruto hadn't actually _seen_ his assailant.

"He was my team mate, friend, and rival to the seat of Hokage all at the same time. When I attained the position over him, he became increasingly militaristic and dark in his worldview, disagreeing with the views and teaching of the Shodaime. He started an organization called 'Root', an off-shoot of ANBU under his own control, initially with the remit of undertaking 'black' missions for the benefit of the village that as he was an independent force, we could not be blamed for.

"They went against everything I believed, everything your Father believed, and everything the Shodaime had taught; and yet, I let him continue. Continue with the missions, continue building Root's strength. Even now, I'm not entirely sure why. I suppose I believed him to have the village's best interests at heart, the way he saw best to protect the village. I still saw him as my friend.

"However, it became increasingly clear that Danzou's motives had at some point, changed. He begun to plot to usurp me as Hokage, to establish Konoha as the dominating force in the world. He intends to conquer the rest of the elemental nations, with Konoha at the head of course, by any means necessary."

Naruto felt slightly ill at that. The sheer loss of life such a campaign would exact upon Konoha, on his friends - hell, on the world - was utterly staggering. But it was the idea of a Konoha with the Hokage as some kind of oppressive tyrant, was what really disturbed him. The idea of the position his Father held, the position he aspired to, being used to rule over people with an iron fist sickened him to the very core.

"This Root... It's gotten too big for you to take down with force, hasn't it; and obviously Danzou is too influential for you to have him taken out and get away with it, and too careful to be caught doing something to damage his reputation?" Naruto asked slowly, running over possibilities and facts in his mind faster than he could even process them properly.

"On the money, gaki." Jiraiya interjected from his position at the back of the room, arms folded, with a similar serious expression to the Sandaime on his face. "Essentially, we're stuck waiting for him to make his move, with very little we can do to directly counter him."

"Assassination is out of the question. Danzou is too well protected, too damn paranoid and frankly, too good to be taken out of the game like that. Obviously I could simply have Root removed and Danzou killed.." Sarutobi started, leaving Naruto with an opportunity to fill in the rest.

"But you can't move without evidence because he has so much support from within the village; and that aside, fighting against a force of Black-ops trained shinobi would be _horrific_ in terms of casualties and structural damage, as well as being impossible to hide from enemies on the outside." Seeing the Hokage nod in confirmation, Naruto pressed on. "So what can we do?"

"We watch, Naruto. Gather a circle of those you trust absolutely around yourself, and work to monitor Danzou's movements and actions, and counter them as often as is possible. Then it's just a case of waiting for Danzou to make his move. In most cases, under the radar battles for control of a village such as Konoha are long term, and rest on the swaying of the influential young of the village - the heirs to the most prominent people and clans - onto your side before any real conflict can break out... However, we have something on our side this time that could be instrumental in that particular battle - something Danzou would never be able to acquire for himself."

Naruto racked his brain trying to reason out what Sarutobi was hinting at, but in the end, the elder Kage put him out of his misery.

"I have somebody already integrated into the current crop of major clan heirs - somebody they all trust, but more importantly, somebody I am absolutely certain I can trust absolutely. We have _you_ Naruto." Sarutobi sighed as he finished his sentence. Involving a Genin, a freshly minted one at that - not to mention one he cared for as though he were family - was deeply disturbing for him. But he was being honest. Naruto would be invaluable in ensuring that as many of the heirs as possible remained on his side, the side of the Will of Fire.

Even now, he knew, Naruto had started to make friends and secure the loyalty and trust of several of them. Asuma was fairly certain the Nara heir would remain in whatever camp Naruto himself was in, that Naruto had already managed to inspire a large amount of trust and loyalty in the Nara. He was equally certain that the Akimichi and Yamanaka heirs would do the same, if not only because of Shikamaru. He had also become incredibly close with Inuzuka Hana, who while not the heir, was the daughter of the current clan head, and the eldest child, and thus held a lot of sway within the clan itself. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the current Hyuuga heir seemed to be incredibly fond of the blond, which would be vital in ensuring at the very least, that the village's most powerful clan would not support Danzou.

"You've already begun to make friends and earn the trust of a great amount of your graduating class. As you're probably aware, every Hokage has a circle of his most trusted Jonin, ANBU, and advisers; that he is certain he can trust above all others. My own currently includes the likes of Jiraiya, Kakashi, and my son Asuma. What I want you to attempt to do, is try and begin to establish your own, at first from those within your graduating class."

"Also," Jiraiya interjected, "you should keep in mind exactly how useful of a circle of people you can trust, and are ready and willing to help you out, can be. These aren't just the people that we want you to try and work with against Danzou's machinations - the are the clan heirs and important ninjanthat are going to support your drive to become Hokage, that will stand against your enemies alongside you. Of course, it's implied that you'll do the same for them - but I have a feeling that you'd help any of them either way. This is just another step towards you achieving your goal of becoming Hokage." Jiraiya paused before allowing a wry grin to emerge on his face.

"And another step towards me blowing away the ladies by being able to claim I was the man who trained _two_ Hokage's. They'll be throwing themselves at me!"

* * *

Naruto exhaled slowly, trying very hard to center himself and clear his mind, but it was a thankless task. There was so much going on. The Sandaime had essentially asked that he formed a semi-independent faction for a covert, long-term battle for control of the entire village, and the Chunin exams started in a mere four days - bringing a vast amount of foreign shinobi, including the maniacally homicidal jinchuuriki Gaara, and a whole heap of mortal peril to boot.

But most importantly, he was excited. Excited because one of his newest friends was about to arrive at his training ground, and they would begin their training together for the Exams. The Hokage had been unable to find a third teammate for him to take the exams, but because he had worked with the second member of his 'team' before with good results, he'd be able to take the exam as a pair.

He'd be taking the Chunin exam as a duo with Inuzuka Hana.

Who coincidentally, had just walked into the clearing that he and Jiraiya had monopolised to train in.

"Meditating, Naruto? Didn't think it's be your thing."

Naruto got up and turned to face the grinning medic, and gave her a sheepish smile.

"To be honest, it really isn't, but I spent some time recently training with my toad summons, and they insisted I learn. It's actually the first stage of learning a way of fighting that may well be strong enough to put me on a level above most Jonin at least. I won't be able to start learning it until my body is ready, but meditating will make it much easier when I start."

Hana blinked, dumbfounded for the briefest of moments, before bursting out laughing. "Only you, Naruto, could be so blase about learning what seems to be such a powerful skill from the summons of Jiraiya of the Sannin and the bloody Yondaime of all people. I take it you've gotten a lot better since we last met up then?"

Naruto grinned, his features taking on a distinctive fox-like quality. "You have no idea."

"Well then, before we get down to working on our teamwork, and planning for the exams; what say we get... reacquainted? My Mum's been helping me prepare for the exams while you've been gone, and I have some new moves I've been dying to try out on you." The Inuzuka stated with a smirk, cracking her knuckles faux-menacingly.

"Heh, well if you think you can touch me, you're welcome to try. Just don't be whining when I put you down."

"Dog jokes, Naruto? Really? I thought you were better than that." She sighed dramatically, shrugging her shoulders to complete the look. "Now I'm gonna _have_ to kick your ass."

* * *

_The Day Before the Chunin Exams_

"Basically, I hate midgets. Especially ones that are rude... Makes me want to kill them."

Sakura gulped heavily at that declaration - after all, the situation the annoying little boy being held aloft by his shirt was in, was mostly her fault. He had made some sort of vaguely insulting comment about her ability as a ninja - she didn't even really remember or care at this point - and she had chased him, fully intending to enact vengeance on the little brat. How dare someone who looked like they hadn't even enter the academy talk about her skill as a ninja!

But she hadn't meant for this to happen. She had apparently chased him right into the clutches of a pair of murderous foreign ninja. One was a blonde girl, perhaps a little older than her, wearing a plain white dress, tied with a red sash round her waist; and if Sakura had to guess, a metal battle fan strapped to her back. She looked utterly indifferent and fed up with the turn of events, as if strolling into a village full of foreign ninja and murdering a small child was nothing unusual, nothing to be concerned about.

The second, however, was the one that truly had Sakura scared. He was directing a fair amount of killer intent her way - something she still hadn't even learned how to do - and seemed utterly serious about killing the kid just for bumping into him. He was the same age as his companion, but wore a black full body suit, that even covered the top of his head, and had covered his face in white and purple face paint; that to Sakura, made him look entirely menacing.

She knew full well she was outclassed, and had almost descended into a minor panic. None of her team-mates were close, and he sensei, Hatake Kakashi, had been called away to the Hokage so there was no way he could help. She was on her own, and had no way of being able to help the boy, let alone herself if they decided to attack her as well.

"P-please, don't-"

"Begging?" The boy in black snorted loudly. "I knew Konoha Genin would be weak, but begging? Pathetic."

Sakura actually winced. This entire situation was preying on every insecurity she had developed since graduating, and finding out just how behind her team-mates she actually was. Of course she had known Uchiha Sasuke was better than her. How could she not? He was the last Uchiha - a famous, and powerful clan - and the Rookie of the year. He was undefeated in the Academy spars, aced all the tests, and even knew jutsu outside of those taught in the academy. He was a prodigy - a natural genius, born to be a top shinobi.

But she had been the second placed graduate, and even edged out Sasuke in a good many of the written tests. Her chakra control was, even according to Kakashi-sensei, superb, and she had always done reasonably in the academy spars. She had actually believed she would actually make a decent ninja.

And then she graduated. Saw first hand how much better than her Sasuke and her other team mate, Sai, were. She had witnessed Jonin level combat and stared death in the face on her first C-rank mission. And it had shaken her to her very core. She was very, very close to quitting all together. And then this had happened, and Sakura was once again completely helpless and out of her depth.

"You know, walking around in somebody else's village, flaring off killing intent and threatening their shinobi - civilians even - really isn't very clever. Call it a hunch, but I don't think you're quite Chunin material."

Sakura started as a familiar voice spoke from her side.

It was Naruto, and she hadn't even _sensed_ him until he had spoken.

But it wasn't just that. Naruto might as well have been a total stranger for how familiar he looked. He was dressed almost completely in black, wearing what was the standard shinobi uniform, but instead of a flak jacket like the Jonin or Chunin of the village, he was wearing a deep red set of body armor that covered a fair amount more than the Anbu standard armor she had seen on the mysterious masked shinobi around the village. She also couldn't help but notice that he had absolutely no pouches for his ninja equipment, or anything remotely similar.

But what stood out more than absolutely anything else, what shocked her even more than his ditching his ridiculous orange outfit sometime since their only D-rank together; was the expression he wore. He looked... _Intense. _His cerulean blue eyes fixing the two shinobi in front of them with a firm and penetrating stare. Taking everything in, measuring the situation, measuring the enemy.

Suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, Sakura suddenly felt better after seeing his expression - like she knew that now he was here, these two foreign ninja wouldn't be able to get to her past him. It was ridiculous. She knew that Naruto was an idiot. She knew he was weak - even weaker than she was in fact. And then, she'd glance at him and feel reassured all over again.

"I'm getting lectured by yet another weak Konoha midget? I should just deal with you all right-"

"Kankuro, he's going to be mad if we don't hurry. Just put the brat down." The boy, Kankuro apparently, glanced at the blond girl who had spoken condescendingly.

"Man, Temari, just relax a little. _He's_ not here, is he? I just want to have a little fun before we have to meet him." The blonde girl rolled her eyes and sighed, but said nothing more, apparently deciding to leave Kankuro to it.

"I'm really sorry - Kankuro, was it? But I absolutely can't let you hurt that kid." Naruto interrupted the exchange, trying to remain as polite as absolutely possible. Sakura might not have had a clue about who these two were, but he did. These, were Gaara's siblings, and the eldest children of the current Kazekage - in other words, pretty much the only people in the whole of Suna who could get away with strolling into a foreign village and causing problems.

And they just so happened to have taken the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, essentially as a hostage.

Somehow, _somehow - _Naruto had managed to walk into the middle of a hugely volatile diplomatic situation - on his way to Ichiraku's, of all the utterly innocuous things. If the Genin wasn't already convinced that he'd never have a normal day in his life, he was now. This was _so _his luck.

"And what exactly is some punk like you going to do about it?"

Naruto did his best to shoot the crying child a reassuring smile, before fixing Kankuro with an altogether disarmingly innocent grin that only Sakura recognised as the grin he wore before one of his pranks went off in class.

"Well probably something like this." And with barely a flicker of movement from his right hand, he sent a pair of kunai towards the two Suna shinobi, one aimed at each of them. Not one person even tried to figure out exactly where Naruto had gotten the kunai from.

Kankuro smirked at the rather pathetic attack. He thought about intercepting the blades with the kid in his hands, but realised rather quickly that the both of the weapons were off target. This waste of space couldn't even throw kunai straight.

He couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing as the kunai went straight past his face. And as a result he missed the sound of two transformations dispelling from behind him. Temari had heard it, but the deactivation of the technique had been perfectly timed, and she hadn't been able to react until it was two late, and both of the Suna ninja felt the cold steel of a kunai pressed against their bare necks by a pair of smiling blond shinobi.

"Would you _please_ let the Grandson of the Sandaime Hokage go now? If you don't, it's my duty as a Konoha ninja to kill you to protect him, and I really don't want to have to cause a diplomatic incident because you're sort of an idiot."

Kankuro gulped impulsively and released his hold on the boy almost instantly. He had very nearly made an unbelievable mistake. He had nearly ruined _everything_. Of all the snot nosed little kids he could have chosen to mess with, he had probably picked the only one that he couldn't have gotten away with hurting. In fact, his poor choice of target probably meant that the blond holding a kunai to his throat would be pretty safe to kill him right now in defense of the Hokage's relative, some minor diplomatic issues aside. The only reason he wasn't already dead, assuming this Konoha ninja had the stones to actually kill him, was his own status as a Kage's son.

"Kankuro. You're embarrassing us."

The third voice surprised Sakura, but it was Naruto's reaction that had her worried. The two Bunshin darted forward and picked up the boy, and ran back towards her and the original Naruto, who himself had stepped forward protectively, and fresh kunai in his hand and all signs of false politeness or mischief totally erased from his face.

"I was wondering when you were going to come out of that tree... Gaara."

The red-haired jinchuuriki was hanging from the branch of a tree overlooking the confrontation, his arms crossed, and a cold stare on his face aimed at Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Suddenly, Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand and chakra induced smoke, and reappeared in between the two opposing groups of shinobi, looking directly at the blond Konoha nin. "Mother wants your blood..." His rasping voice, somehow managed to set Naruto even more on edge, even as Naruto searched for a sign that Gaara was anything less then totally lost in the darkness.

Unfortunately, the sight of several trails of sand snaking towards him across the ground cut that particular search short.

"Gaara wait!" Naruto exclaimed, desperate to avoid a fight with the Jinchuuriki in the middle of the village. "If you attack me now you'll be thrown out of the village!" But the sand kept coming, and Gaara gave no sign that he had even heard his fellow container. "I said wait! If you get thrown out, you won't be able to fight all of the other strong ninja that are competing! People stronger than me! People who can... Prove your existence."

The sand stopped dead, and Naruto suddenly felt immensely grateful to Jiraiya, who had apparently put some significant effort into producing an intelligence report on the Ichibi's container. That last part, had been part of one of the most difficult things Naruto had ever read, because he came to realise exactly how close to becoming like Gaara he had come.

"Because after all, when your all alone, when your lost in despair... You have to find a reason..." Naruto spoke softly, not even really talking to Gaara in particular.

"A reason to live... To exist." Gaara's eyes had widened before he replied, because he had seen in Naruto's eyes, the exact same thing he saw in his own.

Uzumaki Naruto _understood. _And it was Mother's insane whisperings that told Gaara why. _Kyuubi._ The one word that Gaara had been able to properly recognise. Uzumaki Naruto understood because he bore the exact same burdens that Gaara himself bore - and yet, he was so very different._  
_

What reason had he found?

"You and I... are the same. What- What is your reason?"

"I found friends. People who cared for me, for no other reason than because I was me. They rescued me from the hell that you're still in right now, Gaara. They're my reason to exist. I wonder, Gaara, who's reason is a stronger? Who's existence?"

"Someone who lives for others... Will always be weak. Yours is meaningless."

"Then prove it, Gaara. Save up all that blood lust for he exams, and find me. Find me and prove that your existence, your reason, is stronger than mine."

Gaara just stared, his eyes boring into Naruto's. "You want to prevent me from killing."

"Of course I do. But I can't really stop you once your in the exams... Although, I would appreciate it if you'd just focus on me until you've killed me."

The red head couldn't fathom how Naruto had found his answer, how their reasons could be so radically different. Surely, his reason was weaker than his? He was weak? And yet, of all the people he had tried to kill, the Konoha ninja was the only one other than his father who had escaped. The only one that had managed to live...

"Do not die until we fight, Uzumaki Naruto. Mother... Wants your blood, and she _will_ have it." Gaara turned from him, and started to walk away. "Kankuro, Temari. Come."

The mention of his siblings brought Naruto's attention away from Gaara for the first time since he had showed up, only to see both Kankuro and Temari gazing at him with unreadable expressions on their faces. "Sure, Gaara... We're coming." Temari stated quietly, shooting Naruto one final glance, before her and Kankuro left with the red head.

"Well," Naruto began as soon as he was certain they'd gone, turning his attention back to the pair that had started the entire incident in the first place, "that could have gone a lot worse. For a start, the three ninja hiding in the bushes across from here could have decided to get involved." Both the reaction of Sakura, as well as the ninja in the bush - who left without even revealing their faces - made Naruto grin widely as he tried to put Gaara out of his mind.

"Are you okay, Konohamaru?" Naruto queried with a gentle smile at the still shaken boy, and tousled his hair once he had received a nervous nod in the affirmative. "Anyway, Sakura, I've got to head off - some last minute preparations to make for the exams. But, if you have time, there's a meeting of the rookie Genin at Moritake's barbecue place this evening at six. It's about the Chunin exams, and Gaara. See if you can't get your team mates to show up as well."

Sakura nodded, knowing full well that Sasuke would want to be there if it was a meeting about enemies they might face in the Exams.

"Great! I'll see you then."

And with that, Naruto strolled away, leaving the girl alone in the street with the shell shocked grandson of the Hokage, and her thoughts. She supposed she should be curious about the new abilities Naruto had shown, or the fact he had been able to sense that red-haired ninja before she had, or even his new, and much improved clothing. But as she watched the blond stroll away from her casually, as though nothing of importance had just happened, she was only really struck by one thought.

_'He didn't ask me on a date - He didn't even call me Sakura-chan...'_

And try as she might, Sakura couldn't even begin to understand why these two facts hurt quite as much as they did.

* * *

Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk a little as he watched Naruto's left brow twitch in annoyance as he tried not to lose his cool in front of the little gathering the blond himself had put together. Their entire graduating class, all nine of the rookie Genin had turned up - along with Shimura Sai and Inuzuka Hana - something that actually surprised the Nara somewhat. He didn't think Sasuke or Sai would come here at Naruto's request, no matter how convincing he might have been; but, having finally found out _why _he had called all of them together, he wasn't all that surprised.

Subaku no Gaara. A guy so strong that Naruto was worried enough to call them all together and warn them. A guy strong enough that the Hokage would be willing to provide Naruto with a dossier of what was likely classified information on the kid, so that they'd all have the best chance of surviving the encounter. A guy who had come to Konoha to compete in the Chunin Exams that they had all been entered into by their senseis. It was the very definition of troublesome.

Predictably however, Sasuke had brushed off Naruto's concern with all the swagger and arrogance that Shikamaru had come to associate with him. He simply did not believe that another Genin could be a threat to him, and his newly awakened sharingan. In his own words, he had stood against Jonin, awakened his fabled and powerful blood line, and been trained by Hatake Kakashi. Why on earth should he heed the 'dobe's' warning about another Genin, of all things? Besides, he needed strong opponents to test his skills.

And with that, he had taken one of the copies of the dossier that Naruto had bought for each of them to study, and left, Sakura in tow.

"Ino, I don't care how much you like him - that guy is an asshole." Naruto ground out to his fellow blond, who frowned at the comment, but didn't quite have it in herself to argue.

"As much as I hate to admit it, ignoring advice endorsed by the Hokage, is kind of arrogant. If you, Jiraiya-sama, and the Hokage are all in agreement about avoiding this guy; then that's advice we can't really ignore, Naruto. Prodigious Uchiha or not." Ino responded truthfully. She of course, had a giant crush on the Uchiha - what girl didn't, after all? But her Father had taught her well enough not to blind herself to a person's faults, and regardless of what Sakura believed, Sasuke had many. And that was why Ino knew that her crush on Sasuke was just that - a crush, despite her regular arguments with Sakura.

"He's ludicrously strong, guys. Make no mistake about it. And he has a... Power, that very few people have, that allows him to get even stronger. When he's using it, he'd probably give most Jonin a run for their money. If you add to that the fact that he's insanely bloodthirsty, and he's come here not to compete, but for the opportunity to kill other Genin, then we have a really serious problem."

"So, Naruto - whats the plan?" Several people looked startled at Shikamaru's question, particularly Ino and Chouji, knowing full well how good Shikamaru was at formulating strategies. For him to defer to Naruto, was making a big statement, and it was one that only Naruto seemed to miss.

Shikamaru, for his part, hadn't really seen it in terms of him making a statement though. Shikamaru was too busy trying to shake the feeling of familiarity that hit him as he, for all intents and purposes, briefed them on an enemy shinobi. It was the same feeling Asuma gave off when he gave them serious orders in the field, the same feeling he got from the Hokage when being sent out on a mission.

Naruto had never been naturally smart. Nor had he been particularly strong, or talented, or had any special ninjutsu or techniques. And yet, here they all were, being briefed by him - being _led_ by him. He made people want to follow him, to fight by his side and for him. If Naruto became a powerful shinobi in his future, then it would be because he worked himself to the bone for it. But Shikamaru knew without a doubt that one day, Naruto would be a leader. Whether he was simply a Jonin or Chunin heading up a team, or even if he actually managed to become Hokage - Uzumaki Naruto had been born to lead.

"For the most part - run. If you come across him during the exam, escape through any means necessary. If you're drawn against him in the tournament - forfeit. If you fight him- Well, I don't think there's anybody here strong enough to fight him properly and still live, at least not yet. There is one more thing you can do however - if escape is impossible, if you truly need help..."

And with that, Naruto pulled out and unraveled a small sealing scroll, that had a dozen individual seals drawn onto it's surface, and unlocked the first seal; revealing a small case that held, in amongst a bed of soft cloth, a rather plain looking kunai.

"How exactly is a kunai gonna help us against this Gaara guy?" Kiba exclaimed, frustrated. He liked Naruto, and knew he had improved at least enough enough that his warning was well worth heeding; but Naruto acting as if a kunai was some kind of secret weapon was a little more than he he could handle with patience. And if his barking was anything to go by, Akamaru was the same.

"If you'd have given me a chance to explain, mutt, you'd know. This isn't a kunai, it's a Kage Bunshin under a transformation." Naruto smiled wryly as he watched the reaction to that news. Kiba obviously wasn't even trying to understand, but Shikamaru and Ino were thinking furiously, trying to work out what Naruto had planned. "See, Jiraiya-sensei taught me a way to deal with Gaara's special abilities - but I don't have time to teach it to any of you, and obviously I can't really follow you all around the exams. So, I transformed a bunch of Kage Bunshin into kunai, and had Jiraiya-sensei help me with a seal that would feed them chakra to keep them from dispelling. All you need to do if you come under attack from Gaara - or anyone you think you need help with for that matter - ask the kunai to transform and dispel. Kage Bunshin are special, because they transfer their memories to me when the dispel, so I'll know where you were, and hopefully be able to come and help you get away."

"I have to admit, Naruto - that's actually pretty smart. Are you sure your technique to deal with Gaara will work?" Kiba asked, sounding suitably impressed with both his plan, and the Kage Bunshin's abilities.

"It should. All I need to do is make contact with Gaara's exposed skin for a second or two, and it should work. Though, with how strong the guy is, that's easier said than done."

"I-I think you can do it, Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke up softly for the first time since the meeting had started, carefully avoiding the gaze of everybody else in their private room at Moritake's. "You're a very strong person..."

"Heh, thank you Hinata." Naruto answered, suddenly realising just _how_ shy the girl was. "But it is funny though," He pressed on, returning to the original topic of conversation. "Other villages don't usually allow people like Gaara to compete in Chunin Exams outside of their own villages - they're too dangerous - so why was he sent here? Without even letting our Kage know, at that. It's, well, _troublesome_."

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow, not at Naruto's choice of words, but at something he'd said at the start of his sentence. "Naruto, what do you mean by 'people like Gaara' - and while I'm asking, what exactly are Gaara's 'special' abilities? The ones that make him as strong as a Jonin? The dossier on his attacks and battle strategies is surprisingly well detailed - but once it reaches the part about his ability to increase his power, it gets incredibly vague, and to be honest, not very useful at all outside of being a generalised warning."

Naruto sighed, and leaned back in his chair at their table. He knew that _someone_ would ask the question, and that it would most likely be Shikamaru. But if there was _anyone_ he didn't want to have to explain Gaara to, it was the Nara. It would be easy - too easy for Shikamaru to figure out exactly how Gaara's status as a jinchuuriki related to Naruto, and that was a secret Naruto thought he didn't ever want to get out.

But at the same time, with the conversation with the Sandaime and Jiraiya regarding an 'inner circle' still fresh in his mind; Naruto was certain that any group he managed to gather would mostly be comprised of those in this room. At least, everyone but Sai. Sharing a last name with Danzou, as well as his pretty mysterious origins, pretty much instantly ruled him out.

Either way however, knowledge about Gaara's state as a jinchuuriki, would probably be almost essential to the people in front of him while they were trying to survive. This secret wasn't worth risking their lives even more over keeping.

"Tell me, guys - have you ever heard of the term _Jinchuuriki?_" Naruto looked out unsurprised at the series of confused faces in front of him. The subject of tailed beasts and their human containers was after all, a rather sensitive topic in Konoha after all. "No? Okay, then, how about the word Bijuu?"

The word resulted in further confusion, not because they had never heard the term before, but because they were struggling to see how exactly this related to Gaara. Perhaps most surprisingly, it was Hinata who answered for the group. "T-the tailed beasts, like the Kyuubi that attacked the village, are also called Bijuu." She answered timidly, but this time managed to maintain eye contact with Naruto, giving him perhaps the strangest look he had ever received in his life. But before he could think on it any more, Kiba jumped in and asked the question Naruto was sure was on everybody's lips.

"But what the hell do the Bijuu have to do with Gaara?"

"Well," Naruto began, trying to ensure he gave as few clues as possible, both in his words, and in the emotions on his face. "In short, the hidden village's in the past spent a great deal of time trying to find a way to harness and use the immense power all of the Bijuu have at their disposal. You've all heard about the Kyuubi, how it could flatten mountains and level villages with just a swish of one of it's tails - well shinobi tried to weaponize that power, in order to use it in their wars.

"Of course, eventually, they succeeded. The answer laid in fuinjutsu - sealing. All they had to do, was seal the beast inside a living person, and have that person become a shinobi - then teach them to access the power of the bijuu through their seal - and they would have their great weapons." Naruto paused a little, needing to regain his composure after his fairly callous depiction of jinchuuriki. "These people were called jinchuuriki, _'the power of the human sacrifice' - _people who would give up their status as normal people, and risk being taken over and destroyed by the bijuu within them. However, the seals wouldn't take when applied to adults - the power of even the weakest bijuu ripped apart the chakra systems of the hosts because of the sheer intensity and quantity of it. So the villages took a different approach.

"The chakra coils of newborn children are incredibly flexible, and able to expand almost infinitely as they cope with growing chakra levels. So they tried to use newborns to seal the beasts - and it worked, finally providing stable containers for the power of the bijuu. Unfortunately, the bijuu were already widely feared within the villages - because every time a sealing failed, the bijuu broke out and attacked the village it was in out of revenge, and was only recaptured at the cost of a great many lives. As a result, the jinchuuriki grew up hated, and ostracized, and alone - a truly, truly hellish existence.

"Gaara is one of these people. Suna sealed the Ichibi into him at birth, at the cost of his own mother's life, condemning him to that existence. But the seal they used was of poor quality, and it actually allows the beast a small amount of influence on Gaara, a small impact on his mind. At first he resisted, but as he grew up, witnessed the hatred and fear he faced in his own home, he found less and less reason to. He started to strike out, attack the people who wronged him, and as a result, his father attempted to have him assassinated."

The room sat in dumbfounded silence. Whatever they had been expecting, it hadn't been that. But it was Ino that truly stood out. She was looking straight at Naruto, right into his eyes, with an utterly devastated look on her face, tears streaming silently from her eyes. And Naruto knew at that point without even a shadow of a doubt that Ino _knew_. Ino had figured it out from his words somehow, that Naruto was the same as Gaara, before even Shikamaru.

And yet, of all the imagined responses to someone finding out, the sheer sadness Ino displayed was not a reaction that he had anticipated. Fear, anger, mistrust he had expected. But not this.

Ino must have seen something on his face, or in his eyes, because what happened next changed the course of this little meeting, and the future, forever.

_'It doesn't change anything Naruto, and it won't for anybody else here. The Kyuubi will never be able to change the fact that I am your friend, and that's a promise, or I'm not Yamanaka Ino! I swear it Naruto, you have friends now Naruto - people who care about you, me, Shika, and Chouji at the very least - and we're never going to let you be alone again.'_

If Ino hadn't surreptitiously shifted to show the handseal she had formed with her still shaking hands, he would have been certain he had dreamed her voice in his head. But it had been some kind of Yamanaka clan technique.

And after a declaration like that, Uzumaki Naruto could do nothing less than tell his friends everything.

"Gaara's power increase is because he gradually allows Shukaku, the Ichibi, more and more influence over him - to release more and more of it's power through him, until it has completely possessed him if necessary. When pushed, Gaara can transform into the Shukaku itself, something with enough power to level a village if left unchecked. It really is fortunate for Konoha that the Yondaime was one of the greatest seal masters that had ever lived, if we're being totally honest." Naruto stated quickly, before he backed out of his own internal promise to reveal all. It was definitely too late now regardless, if Shikamaru's stunned face was anything to go by._  
_

"After all, bijuu like the Kyuubi cannot be killed by anything."

And at that statement, the entire room went deadly silent, but Naruto powered on through it. "So the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi in a child born on the day of it's attack, using on of the strongest seals ever conceived. I'm told by Jiraiya that the seal is a work of genius... The Kyuubi can only exert it's influence when it's chakra is being used in large quantities, making the seal virtually impenetrable from within. Furthermore, it's designed in such a way that the Kyuubi's 'will' is sealed separately from the chakra itself, meaning that eventually, it's Jinchuuriki could learn how to control certain amounts of it's chakra without risking releasing the Fox. The child the Yondaime chose... was me."

As he finished, Naruto's nervousness was almost palpable in the room, and he turned his head away from the group, unable to even risk looking at the reactions of his comrades.

Naruto started however, as Shikamaru snorted. Loudly.

"Man, Naruto. I don't know if you were worried, but hating you for something like _that _would be far too troublesome for words. It's like you said - the Yondaime was the best at sealing, and Jiraiya-sama was his teacher, so if those two think it worked, then it did as far as I'm concerned, and anybody who says otherwise is just a troublesome idiot. You're just Naruto, my friend. The fact that you happen to be keeping us all safe from an evil Fox spirit too doesn't even come into it."

"Hating you for what you contain would be incredibly illogical for an Aburame, Uzumaki-san. I am not particularly well acquainted with you, but I believe that I would also like to be able to call you a friend, regardless of the Kyuubi." Shino chipped in, pushing his sunglasses further up his nose as he spoke.

"I-I think the Yondaime chose you for a reason N-Naruto-kun... He thought you were strong enough to keep the Kyuubi contained, a-and I know he's right. I-I'd also like to be your f-friend... If that o-okay with you..." Hinata added, a blush rising to her face as she finished what was perhaps the longest sentence she had ever spoken to her crush.

"Damn, Naruto. I never even thought that anything like this was even possible... But my Mum always taught me to use my gut and your experience with that person when it comes to deciding what kind of person somebody is, and I've known you for a long time now, and you had better believe that I consider you a friend! And an Inuzuka never turns his back on his friends!"

"I'm proud of you, Kiba." Hana suddenly interjected, a proud smile on her face at her brothers words. "Spoken like a true Inuzuka. And Naruto, I have to confess," she continued turning her attention to her blond team mate; "I was just technically old enough to know about the Kyuubi in the first place, and although I wasn't old enough to understand it until much later, some of the population saw that as enough to be able to talk to me about it, so I've known since before I met you, Naruto. It was never even an issue for me. I know better than to make a judgement before seeing any evidence, and I saw enough of the kind of a person you are during our first mission together to know that I wanted to be your friend, and like Kiba says - once an Inuzuka knows that, we'll never turn our backs on you."

"You've always been really kind to me, Naruto," Chouji added, "and if Shikamaru trusts the seal, then so do I! Of course I'm still your friend!"

Only Sai and Ino hadn't spoken out loud at this point - though obviously, Ino had shown her support with her family ninjutsu - but Naruto found he didn't care. He did the only thing he could do, and smiled. Widely, and honestly, and thanked every single person there profusely.

And vowed to himself more surely than he ever had, that these people - his most precious people - would never, ever come to harm while he had anything to say about it.

He just hoped that he always would.

* * *

_The Next Day - The Start of the Exams_

Naruto stood outside the main entrance to the Shinobi Academy, the place where he had spent the better part of his childhood, and he couldn't help but wonder how far he could have gotten had he been allowed to study and learn in the same way as everyone else. He had been held back and stunted by so much during his time here - so thoroughly sabotaged - that the urge to try and picture how strong he could have been now had it not happened.

He glanced sideways at his team mate for the Exam, and one of his first true friends, Inuzuka Hana - who was, as ever, trailed by her three faithful Inuzuka dogs - and couldn't help the small smile that found it's way onto his face.

No. For friends like her, and Ino, and Shikamaru; all the sabotage in the world had been worth it. There would be no telling how a proper education would have affected how things turned out, and even the slightest risk that his bonds with his friends would be changed or damaged simply wasn't worth it. Besides, he had come such a long way since his days in the academy - Kami, he was genuinely on first name terms with the head librarian and archivist and the Konoha library, and even now had Bunshin in there, trying to scrounge up as much knowledge as he possibly could. In fact, ever since he had first learned the value of Kage Bunshin, he had made it a point to have at least a few Kage Bunshin in the library working.

He figured it was a good habit, and he was now so used to the influx of memories from his Bunshin, that one of them dispelling didn't even break his concentration anymore. Not only that, but he and Hana had decided that having Bunshin that could work for them outside the exam would be a massive benefit.

Giving his brunette companion an even wider, more confident grin, he stepped forward into the Academy building, and began the trek to the third floor, the location of the first stage of the Chunin Exams. A trek however, that was interrupted early, by the commotion on the second floor. Both he and Hana had managed to spot the Genjutsu making the second floor appear to be the third floor, but apparently, a good portion of Genin had not done the same; and sharing a glance, Naruto and Hana both immediately understood that the testing and elimination of Chunin candidates had already begun.

"Listen," Naruto turned his attention to the spiky haired Konoha Genin who looked awfully familiar to him, that was standing over another bruised and beaten Konoha Genin that was laying at his feet. "This is our kindness." He continued, gesturing to his bandanna-wearing companion. "The Chunin Exam isn't easy - even we have failed it three times. Those that take the exams and end up quitting as shinobi because of the things they have experienced during the Exam, and even those who die during it - We've seen it all.

"And yet you think that kids as weak as all of you can take the exam? Chunin are military captains, leaders of squads. The lives of their comrades, and the success of their missions are all their responsibilities. You really think that you're ready? Don't make me laugh."

Naruto almost snorted at the rather tame attempt at intimidation. Though, perhaps his view of what was 'a tame attempt at intimidation' was somewhat distorted by Danzou's _stab_ at it during his last mission. He and Hana begun to surreptitiously edge towards the stairwell to the third floor, but Naruto's attention was drawn back to the scene by a familiar drawling voice.

"I agree... But you will let me pass through - and also remove this genjutsu. Sakura noticed it first - her genjutsu knowledge and analytical know how is something else."

He saw how a nervous looking Sakura perked up and seemed to gain a massive amount of confidence from Sasuke's words, Naruto fought the urge to sigh out loud, Team 7 having just arrived. The genjutsu had fooled a good many teams - teams that would have been eliminated before the exams had even started had Sasuke just moved on through without causing a scene. The fewer teams competing, the better chance he and Hana would have of making it through to the third stage, and therefore being eligible for selection as Chunin; and while the teams that had been put off by the genjutsu likely weren't the strongest of teams, a lucky ambush combined with the numbers disadvantage they had, meant that almost any trio could pose a threat to them.

He could have taken the time to bolster Sakura's nerves later, or even before they had come into the building. Not only that, from what he knew of Sakura, he'd had just given away her likely skill set in front of a room full of potential enemies. It was a good sign of course, that he was willing to speak up and compliment his team-mate - the Sasuke he knew at the Academy wouldn't have done that ever, so he had obviously thawed somewhat emotionally - but the manner that he did it in just _screamed_ fatal overconfidence.

Once again Naruto had moved to leave, but stopped in place as Sasuke and one of the pair blocking the door chambered kicks at each other, only to have the green clad boy that had taken a beating before move faster than Naruto had seen any other Genin move, and block both kicks with each of his hands. The strange looking boy, dressed in vivid green spandex and orange leg warmers had obviously been feigning both his incompetence and his injuries, which made it incredibly likely that the brunette girl in a pink Chinese style shirt who appeared to be his team-mate who had also taken a hit, had done the same.

"What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves." This boy, Naruto did recognise, and his words indicated that he was the third team-mate. This boy, dressed in a beige shirt, black shorts, with long black hair reaching halfway down his back, was Hyuga Neji. The pale white irises of his eye gave away his possession of the Byakugan, the dojutsu of the Hyuga clan; and it was this dojutsu in combination with his prodigious talent in taijutsu that had led to Hyuga Neji becoming known to be the most powerful of all of Konoha's Genin.

He was the cream of the crop in Konoha, and his team-mates were likely at a similar level, so when the one dressed in green spandex challenged Sasuke to a fight, Naruto's curiosity couldn't be ignored. He created a Kage Bunshin in the hallway out of sight of the rest of the Genin, leaving it to watch the fight between Sasuke and the boy who had revealed himself to be called Rock Lee, while he and Hana moved on to the true third floor.

"Is he always quite that arrogant, Naruto?" Hana queried, once they were out of earshot, eliciting a small snigger from the blond.

"My God yes - I've been saying it for years, but no one would listen to me. Sasuke's a true blue asshole to most people, though it seems that he's at least a little nicer to his team than he is the rest of us. It's just a shame that he's good enough to back up most of the talking he does."

Naruto blinked as he received the memory of the fight between Rock Lee and Sasuke, and burst out laughing as he processed exactly what had happened.

"Sasuke got his ass kicked by that Rock Lee guy! Totally outclassed!" Naruto explained at Hana's inquisitive look. "That said," he continued, his voice taking on a more serious tone as he took in the consequences of what he had just seen. "It would appear that his team is one of the best here. Lee's taijutsu looks to be much faster than I am, and better in taijutsu in terms of form and ability, and I think he might be wearing weights just to top it all off. Two top class taijutsu specialists and one unknown quantity make that team a very dangerous prospect."

Hana just nodded, her face set into a frown. If Naruto was worried about this team, then that meant they were going to have to steer well clear of them until the third stage, which was a one on one fighting tournament. Dealing with such powerful opponents with a numbers disadvantage, and with only Naruto really specialising in combat, would be disastrous.

"Well, here we are... You ready?" Naruto asked his team mate with a grin, as the pair reached the door to room in which the first stage of the Chunin Exams would take place.

"As I'll ever be." Hana started, before her own smile became positively feral. "Let's go and kick some ass, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto subconsciously found himself edging in front of Hana, even though he was certain she would not need his protection, as they entered the room positively brimming with rather menacing looking Genin.

The immediate thought that struck Naruto was that Jiraiya had well and truly underestimated how incredibly rare it was for there to be rookie teams in the exams - at least if this room was anything to go by. The majority appeared to be at least over the age of 16, with some even entering middle age. A fool might say that since these people had been Genin for so long, they must simply lack talent or ability, but Naruto liked to think he had at least become smart enough to avoid falling into that trap.

No, these were Genin that had been out in the field for years. Teams of three that had worked, fought, and survived together; and spent years accumulating skill and experience before coming here. Of course, they _were_ still only Genin - any Kage would have had a shinobi promoted if they were ready for the responsibility - but they were experienced, well oiled genin cells, and to underestimate or assume anything about any of them would be utter folly.

Still, within moments Naruto had singled out several Genin that were so very obviously a step above the rest. Gaara's team practically oozed danger; and a team with musical notes on their hitai-ate carried themselves in a manner that displayed their thorough training quite clearly. Though it also gave away more than a touch of arrogance, something Naruto eagerly filed away for later, they were very obviously not to be taken lightly.

Scariest of all though, was the team from Kusagakure. Standing out of the way, right at the back of the room, the trio gazed almost imperiously out at the room of Genin - as though they were so far above that the rest were just insects to them. In the centre of the three however, was a woman with black hair that reached about half way down her back, wearing a simple loose fitting beige shirt, black combats and the same conical straw hat that her entire team wore; and while the rest of her team put him on edge, this woman had the blond's instincts screaming.

Her eyes jumped lazily between the gathered genin, resting on some slightly longer than others, but never losing that gleam of a predator stalking it's prey. This woman looked at the rest of them as though they were her next meal, and Naruto found it very difficult to risk turning his attention away from her, as though she would strike at him the very second his back was turned.

Though, the issue was kind of forced, when a fuming Ino burst into the room behind him, fists clenched and muttering loudly; trailed by an obliviously munching Chouji, and a very fed up looking Shikamaru - although, Naruto thought briefly, that might just be how the Nara _normally_ looked. Naruto didn't even have time to move before a raucously laughing Kiba burst through the door to room, paused to look at Ino, before laughing even harder.

The garbled recount of events he had managed to get from Teams 8 and 10 in between Kiba's laughing, was that somehow, Kiba had tricked Ino into glomping Lee who had been walking fairly close behind her, by telling her it was Sasuke behind.

And naturally, Lee had immediately declared his undying love for the shell shocked Yamanaka. Loudly. In front of the _real_ Sasuke.

However, the commotion being caused by Konoha's rookie's was ended fairly abruptly soon after Team 7's arrival, by a much older Konoha genin.

"You guys should keep it down. Screaming like little children - aren't you guys just rookie's out of the academy? Take a look around you, I think you've managed to make yourselves targets for every team in the room." The bespectacled Konoha Genin that had approached their group ceratinly wasn't wrong. Naruto couldn't even count the number of glares being sent their way; butone thing was for sure, they had the whole room's attention all right.

"I suppose I can't blame you, being rookies and all. In fact, you guys remind me of how I used to be the first time I took the exams."

_That _really got Naruto's attention. Any intel he could get could prove important for he and Hana. Fortunately, Sakura had decided that she was going to do her questioning of this Genin with long, silver hair with all of them around.

"Sorry, ah..." Sakura trailed off slightly, realising that she didn't even know the boy's name.

"My apologies," the Genin started with a small smile. "It appears I'd forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto."

"Right, Kabuto-san... You've taken these exams before? Would you be willing to... give us any clues about what to expect?" Sakura asked, trying to gain the information they all wanted - though not as subtly as he would have liked. Nor was the rather blatant asking for information approved by Hana, going by the look of disdain on the Inuzuka's face.

"Indeed I have. This is my fourth year of taking them, so my seventh exam in total. And while I can't give you any help with the format of the tests, since they change them every year, I can give you a little bit of information I've picked up about the competitors this year. Is there anyone that strikes any of your interests?" Kabuto asked the group, smile fully morphed into a confident smirk.

Unsurprisingly, it was Sasuke that bit first.

"Rock Lee, and Sabaku no Gaara."

"You even know the names? That just makes things too easy..." And with that, the Konoha ninja reached into his kunai pouch, and pulled out a deck of what appeared to be blank cards. "These are my ninja info cards. I use them to store intelligence that I've gathered on other competitors. They may appear blank, but if I apply some of my chakra..."

His hands glowed a pale blue as he did so, and almost immediately the cards entire front face filled up with information and graphs.

"...And all the information I have on Rock Lee appears. Now let's see... Maito Gai's student, on a team with the Hyuuga prodigy Neji, and the talented weapons user Migurashi Tenten... Graduated dead last, but has since gone on to become a specialist in taijutsu under Gai-sensei's tuition. Has completed 20 D-rank missions, and 8 C-ranks - an impressive total for a relatively new Genin cell."

Naruto nodded with the rest of his graduating class, acting impressed and pleased to receive the knowledge, but his mind with abuzz with the possibilities regarding this mysterious supposedly Konoha Genin.

All mission records of C-Rank and above within Konoha were classified without exception. There was almost no possible way without permission from the Hokage that this Genin could have gained access to the complete mission records of one of Konoha's premier Genin cells. Meeting Shikamaru's eyes, he noticed that the Nara had noticed too, and the blond gave a slight shake of his head to indicate that he should do or say nothing.

It was too risky. The likeliest outcome was that Kabuto was not who he said he was - a spy. Though for who, Naruto couldn't say. The only person that really came to mind, was Danzou; but for some reason, this just didn't fit what Naruto knew of the old man's _modus operandi._ It was too blase, too out in the open - arrogant, almost. It almost felt like Kabuto was showboating for somebody.

Naruto's mind couldn't reason out anything more, even as Kabuto read out his information on Gaara - that although wasn't as detailed as the Hokage's dossier - was still mostly made up of highly classified Suna material.

Naruto needed to get a message to a higher up that could be trusted, as soon as possible - but even that thought wasn't to last, even for a second, as the three shinobi in the room with musical notes on the hitai-ate reacted violently to a remark about their village. Apparently, they were from Otogakure, a new village in the Elemental Nations; and one that was still currently too small and weak to send more than a single team to the Exams. A fact that Kabuto had very rudely, and very loudly recited within the earshot of the Oto-nins.

This left Naruto in a dilemma as the three shinobi rushed Konoha. Yes, he believed that Kabuto was a spy, but he did not know for absolute certain - should he intervene?

In the end, the idea of a Konoha shinobi being injured because of his inaction was enough to spur him into defending the still-smirking Konoha nin. Reacting instinctively, lightning began to crackle around both his wrists as his _Kaminari Muchi_ sprang into life from both arms; and the blond lashed out with the whips, striking just ahead of the travel path of the closest two Oto-nin, scorching the ground and stopping them dead in their tracks.

A third attempted to dart between his two halted team-mates to continue the attack, but Naruto's whips were already ready to strike again - and in mid-air, the male Genin was unable to dodge. The two chakra whips gripped his arms and yanked him backwards, sending him tumbling back towards his team-mates, and the three sent the most ferocious glares at the blond they could muster.

"Looks like some Konoha brat has a death wish." The shortest, and central figure hissed, and Naruto allowed himself the opportunity to closely examine the Oto team. The trio were all dressed in matching blue-gray camo outfits, and standard Oto hitai-ate, but that was where the similarities ended. The one that had spoken to him, a short male who had bandages cover his entire face besides a single eye; also appeared to be carrying around some form of shell on his back, as well as being armed with some form of unwieldy metal gauntlet on his right arm.

The second boy - still picking himself up after Naruto's attack - wore a tan brown baggy shirt that covered the camo gear the rest of his team wore, and had black, spiky hair; but other than that, didn't appear to have any real distinguishing features that could clue Naruto in as to what kind of shinobi he was, or how he fought.

It was however, the girl and third member of the team. She regarded him fairly neutrally, which was unusual amongst her comrades at least. She had silky black hair tied back behind her head that seemed to reach almost all the way down her back; and wore a green shinobi combat vest on her upper half, as well as a camo patterned scarf that matched her team. But it was the way she held herself that had Naruto interested.

She was, like the rest of her team, fairly well trained from what he could tell. But, while her team-mates stood together facing him, shoulder to shoulder; she stood with her body angled so she could see and defend both against him _and her team-mates. _It was as if she was expecting them to attack at any moment, and for Naruto, to whom loyalty to ones comrades was paramount, this was deeply unsettling.

However, he was once again interrupted, this time by the arrival of the proctors, led by a bandana and black trench coat wearing Jonin.

"Pipe down, maggots! As of now the Chunin Exams have begun, and any unsanctioned fighting _will _result in disqualification. Now, what do you say we get down to _business._"

* * *

A written exam.

The first stage of the Chunin Exam, the famously dangerous selection procedure for selecting Genin ready for promotion; and the first stage was a freaking written exam.

Now, Naruto was probably the most academically active Genin in the entire village, given the untold hours his Bunshin racked up in the library, but a written exam was where he drew the line. And with a look at the questions, his frustration built even further. He had read extensively on most shinobi related subjects since his graduation, going far beyond what had been required for the Genin exam; but the questions on this test were levels above where he was at in his education, and he had only managed to answer the first and easiest two. There was absolutely no way that there were more than a handful of Genin in this exam that could answer more than one or two of these questions.

Which of course meant that there was another purpose for this exam.

Glancing around, he could see that the majority of Genin were attempting to cheat. Badly. But as a result, the proctors that lined the classroom they had been allocated for the exam were almost constantly noting points being docked from teams, and groups of Genin were ejected with an almost clockwork regularity. There were however some impressive examples of cheating. The girl from Neji's team had managed to construct a wire and mirror system to copy answers from another student, and then provide them to her green-clad third team-mate. Kiba was using Akamaru's elevated position seated on top of his head to copy from the people around him, and Sasuke had activated his Sharingan in order to mimic that hand movements of those who were writing.

According to the rules that the bandana clad proctor had explained to them, each team started with ten points, and each time a member of one of the teams got caught cheating, they lost a certain amount of them. Once a teams total hit zero, they were evicted from the exam. To Naruto, this was particularly unusual. He had not been above occasionally trying to cheat on the written exams back in the academy, but the penalty of an instant fail grade if caught had put him off for the most part - particularly for the important exams, the ones that you had to pass if you wanted to progress through the Academy.

So, an exam to progress as a shinobi where cheating did not mean automatic disqualification had piqued Naruto's interest, and was a puzzle that just refused to leave his mind. He glanced up at the fierce looking proctor, and realised quite quickly that he vaguely recognised the man from his study of the Bingo Book, a book that most villages produce that contains intelligence reports on many powerful or otherwise important ninja, both foreign and from the village itself.. His face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to remember why exactly this man's entry in the Bingo Book had suddenly struck him as important.

_Morino Ibiki._

The blond's eyes snapped open in a silent expression of triumph.

The man was Morino Ibiki, Tokubetsu Jonin, head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation department, and probably one of the most feared interrogators in the entire elemental nations. He was a master of emotional manipulation, often not needing to resort to physical pain to break even seasoned Jonin. Naruto almost let out an impressed whistle at the calibre of person proctoring the Chunin Exam of all things. Then again, Chunin were expected to lead teams, to take dangerous life threatening missions where often, some of those who left would only ever return in a body bag. Only the best Genin could be allowed to advance, only those truly ready for the responsibility.

Naruto returned his mind to his original question, and only one plausible explanation really came to mind. Chunin were often expected to lead reconnaissance missions in foreign, if not outright hostile territory. They needed to be able to gather information discreetly and under pressure, where getting caught would mean death or worse

Now, Naruto could have tried to figure out a way to cheat in the middle of an open room, in plain view. Of course he could. But he and Hana had come prepared for such a situation, and getting the answers to the test in front of him would actually be pretty simple for him, given the fact that what was possibly his best ninjutsu had been designed specifically with gathering information in mind.

Catching Hana's eyes, and receiving a surreptitious nod, he knew that she was relying on him for the answers too - the Haimaru brothers were rather too big to spy from atop her head after all, and were thus relegated to lying patiently at her feet under her desk - and Naruto sent a silent thank you to Fukasaku, and the work they had done on fuinjutsu together as a rough plan came together in his mind.

The blond raised his hand, and asked to be allowed to go to the bathroom. He could practically feel Ibiki's eyes on him as he was led out of the room and accompanied to the toilet by another proctor, and he couldn't help but stiffen slightly as the man focused a touch of killing intent intent in his direction. He wondered briefly if that had cost him some points. Lord, that man was good at his job.

Fortunately for Naruto, he was allowed to go into a cubicle unaccompanied, and almost instantly after locking the door he created a Kage Bunshin silently, which with equal silence, dispelled as quickly as it had come.

This had the effect however, of transmitting it's knowledge of events to all his other currently active Kage Bunshin, including those he still had working in the library. They would then get together the required answers for himself and Hana, before one would dispel itself, giving him the answers to the test without him having to do anything overt in the exam room itself.

He grinned at the minor success, and took advantage of the opportunity to relieve himself (you never know how long it would be until he next had the chance - he was a shinobi after all) and allowed himself to be led back to his seat, where Ibiki fixed him with another brief glare, before resuming his patrol of the room, and all Naruto had to do then was wait for the answers to come to him before he could get on with the part of his plan that he was really excited about.

Fortunately, thanks in part to the fact that his Kage Bunshin were already working in the library, he did not have long to wait. Scribbling his answers down in a hurry, he sent a quick look in Hana's direction to let her know he was about to use his new technique.

It was one that Naruto was incredibly proud of having learned in his time with the toads, partially because it was a fuinjutsu technique; but mostly, because it was a seal he had come up with himself. After a week of fuinjutsu instruction from Fukasaku, Naruto had begun to experiment with some of the basic seal components that he had mastered. Begun to tweak, modify, and tamper with several different seals as his knowledge of how making certain changes would affect the function of a seal.

Initially, he had tried to make some seals for use in out and out combat. However, particularly with explosive seals, Naruto had found that the seals that created most explosions were incredibly volatile when not created in certain, exact ways, and therefore required a lot of experience and knowledge to modify without risking blowing oneself up.

So he had turned to creating something that would make life for shinobi in general easier and more efficient. What he had actually come up with, after much frustration, and many bad ideas, was quite possibly revolutionary - especially once he figured out how to improve it beyond it's current limitations.

He had created a set of sister seals - two seals connected to the each other that had essentially the same function. His reacted to the chakra of the user to change the ink of the seal matrix into letters and wording on the palm of one's hand. The sister seal, as long as it was in range, then imitated this action. In essence, it allowed two shinobi to communicate utterly silently, with a minimum of chakra over small distances, without needing to see each other.

The ramifications of this could be huge for Konoha. If Naruto could increase the range, and tweak the functionality of sending and receiving messages; it meant that Konoha ninja could provide real time updates to the village as to the progress of missions - could request aid instantaneously, cutting waiting periods by hours, days, or even weeks depending on how far away the ninja were. Ultimately, it could save lives, improve efficiency, and provide a distinct advantage over other villages.

For now though, it was an ideal way for Naruto to send over the answers for the test to his team-mate.

Once he and Hana had all the answers written down, his mind returned to Ibiki. Did he have the Hokage's full trust? Naruto supposed that as the Head of an ANBU division loyal to the Hokage, then he would have to be trusted by the Old Man - which in turn meant that Naruto needed to let the bandana wearing Jonin know about Kabuto as soon as he could, especially since he had completed the exam apart from the 'Tenth Question' - a final question that would be revealed ten minutes before the end of the test.

The idea he came up with, was almost painful in it's simplicity - and yet, it fir the persona Naruto had cultivated during the Academy, and so very few people would question his acting out. Surreptitiously pulling out a jar of sealing ink, he drew his only original seal on a blank space on the page, just to the left of the seventh question.

"Test-shmest!" He exclaimed at the top of his voice, the cockiest smirk he had ever managed plastered on to his face. "I thought this Chunin Exam was supposed to be difficult?"

He had wanted Ibiki's attention, and now he had it, along with a considerable amount of the man's formidable killing intent.

"So maggot, you really think this test was _that_ easy? Are you understood the questions, _dead last_?" Naruto almost smiled at the man's attempt to push his buttons, mainly because if Naruto had been serious, Ibiki likely would have been successful.

"Well why don't you take a look at my test and see for yourself? Or are you afraid you'll look like a total loser compared to me, Ibiki-san."

Ibiki tried not to let his surprise at Uzumaki's knowledge of his name show on his face, as he stared down the blond Genin. He was no idiot - information was his specialty after all, and he knew that the reports from the Academy about Naruto's ability, intelligence, and potential were as good as useless these days, and that Naruto had forged himself into an almost entirely new person since his Academy days.

Which logically, meant that his revert to type was a farce, and had a purpose. To cheat was the most likely, but Ibiki could see that his test was entirely filled out, leaving him rather puzzled. The only thing really, was to take the boy's test and give it a once over as he had asked, and try and divine his purpose from there.

"Just so you know, my personal favorite is question seven." And to Ibiki's astonishment, as soon as the blond had spoken, a fuinjutsu seal appeared on the paper, and began to form words with it's ink.

_Yakushi Kabuto. Has classified mission records for at least Team 9 - claims to have similar data for most of Konoha's other participants. In possession of data on Sunagakure's Jinchuuriki. Imprints onto chakra encoded 'info cards' kept on his person. Likely spy. Recommend immediate report to the Hokage._

Ibiki didn't react, but on the inside, he was beaming. The deductions this boy had made, and the decisions he made in reacting to the knowledge he had gained, displayed perfectly the qualities needed to be a Chunin. More importantly however, he as a Genin, had managed to uncover and alert Konoha of a spy that had apparently managed to infiltrate the Hokage Tower to access the mission records, without actually alerting the spy himself - giving Konoha a clear and present advantage.

What's more, with the potential Oto/Orochimaru invasion that the Hokage suspected, the discovery of one of the Snake Sannin's agents could be massive, if that was indeed who Kabuto was. However, the invasion had been kept secret from most, meaning that the kid had been alert enough and wary enough to see through Kabuto, without even knowing about the threat to Konoha.

There was however one final test that the blond would need to navigate however, before Ibiki would be betting on his promotion.

The almost infamous 'Tenth Question'.

* * *

**So much different, and yet so much the same!  
**

**The trouble with this arc is that it's _so_ well known, it's hard to write interestingly at all. Still, between Naruto's interactions with Gaara, Kabuto and the rest of the Genin, along with his dropping of the Kyuubi-bomb and his observation of Tsuchi Kin's relationship with her team, as well as a little more of a clue into how this Danzou thing will end up playing out; I hope this chapter wasn't too much of a dull recollection of canon as it felt.**

**Quick few points though:-**

**On Sasuke: I do hope that the way I've portrayed him isn't considered to be 'bashing'. That wasn't the intention at all. I have two paths that Sasuke can take at the moment - both wildly different from canon, and both require him to have a bit more of an obvious arrogant streak as in canon. This is not an attitude that will last.**

**On Naruto vs. Oto team: No, Naruto is not way overpowered. His use of the Kaminari Muchi was designed to cut off the Sound team's line of attack. He didn't defeat them, just prevented them from attacking safely. And Zaku was nailed going for the flashy aerial attack with Dosu backing him up. Kinda easy pickings, if y'all are being honest.**

**Also, in this and the next few chapters there will be allusions to Senjutsu. No. Naruto is not, and will not be learning sage mode until after the Canon timeskip - hence the 'body can't handle it' line in this chapter. Fukasaku however, as they have more time together/met earlier, has begun some pre-emptive training for it with Naruto, including the meditating.**

**Next chapter expect much fighting. The Forest was hectic enough in canon, but with Naruto in a pair and Gaara actively hunting for him, the possibility of being called to aid some Konoha teams, and Orochimaru, and the Sound team all kicking about, the Forest of Death is going to be a violent mess.**

**Shit's going to go down, big time style, and something that Naruto has been avoiding and intentionally not dealing with will have massive consequences for him. Also, zombies. Sort of. **


	27. The Chunin Exams II

**Oh man, I lost all my notes for this chapter half way through. Totally sucked trying to re-gather my thoughts for such a busy, action-packed one.  
**

**Managed it though, so I hope you all enjoy The Forest of Death!**

**WARNING!:** In this chapter, there is a mention of Senjutsu, and natural chakra. Read the relevant bit carefully. No, Naruto will not be learning Sage Mode. Not for a very long time - at least until past time skip. I put this here to try and stem the worries about me making Naruto overpowered, which is not what I'm intending to do at all.

* * *

_Chapter 27_

_The Chunin Exams II  
_

* * *

The Tenth Question, as it turned out wasn't really an exam question at all - more of a test of the Genin themselves. You see, they had been given a choice - either take the question or don't. If they chose not to, they failed, and would be free to try again at the next Exams. If they chose to take the question and answered correctly, they passed the First Exam; if they were incorrect however, they and their team-mates would fail, and never be able to take the exams again, remaining Genin for the rest of their lives.

Really, his squad had an unfair advantage. He had long ago decided that he would bet everything on becoming Hokage in order to protect his village, and wasn't about to back down at the first hurdle put in his way. Hana on the other hand, dreamed of being a medic-nin, and truth be told, medic-nin didn't actually _need_ to be any higher ranked than Genin, as long as they were good enough at their job.

As it turned out, it had been a trick either way. The question was actually the decision on whether to advance or not. Simply put, those that chose to take the question passed.

"Say you guys become Chunin, and you get a mission to steal a secret document with information vital to the safety of your village. There could be traps all around you, and any number of enemy ninja of _any_ level... Because you don't want to die, because you don't want your comrades hurt, can you avoid this dangerous mission? The answer is no! There are missions you cannot avoid no matter the danger. To be courageous in the face of such tasks, and survive hardship - that is the ability required of a Chunin. Those cowards who aren't willing to put their hopes and dreams on the line, those who cling to the comfort of 'there's always next year'... Those kind of people don't have the right to become Chunin. That was the point of the Tenth Question. Those who chose to take it remain, and have passed; those without the courage have failed... I wish you guys lu-"

Ibiki's speech was cut short by the sound of smashing glass as a figure moving almost faster than Naruto could follow darted into the room, throwing kunai that lodged into the classroom walls as she did so. The kunai were attached to a mass of black cloth that stretched out as the figure came to a stand before the room, creating a banner behind the mysterious woman.

_Newly Arrived Second Chief Examiner Mitarashi Anko!_

Naruto very nearly burst out laughing at the the woman, Anko, on the spot. He couldn't for the life of him decide whether that entrance was cool, lame, or the single funniest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Either way, he decided there and then that he liked Mitarashi Anko. It helped of course, that he was pretty sure she could be trusted too, given that she worked in the Torture and Interrogation department with Ibiki. The woman wearing a tan overcoat with almost nothing underneath but a mesh bodysuit that went down to her thighs, and a short, tan skirt; had managed to endear herself to him by doing something so quintessentially Naruto, that Naruto hadn't even done it yet.

He may have grown up, but this was still the guy who had painted the Hokage Monument, and rigged 200 stink bombs to explode simultaneously throughout the village so that there was literally nowhere to run, after all.

"It's way too early to be celebrating!" Anko shouted out over the din caused by her entrance. "You left this many behind Ibiki? You're slipping."

Ibiki barked out a laugh. "There were some outstanding ones this year, Anko."

"Well, no matter." Anko began, gazing almost bloodthirstily at the remaining Genin. "By the time _I'm_ done, their numbers will be cut by half."

Suddenly, Naruto couldn't help but feel that he didn't like Anko quite as much as he thought he did.

"Now follow me little Genins, I'll explain everything once we get to the location of the second exam."

* * *

Jiraiya almost smirked as he glanced around the room he and several of the other Konoha Jonin were waiting in whilst their Genin took Ibiki's little test of character.

Every single one of them, except perhaps Kakashi - the unflappable brat that he was - was looking decidedly flustered at his decision to wait for Naruto and the Inuzuka girl to finish the first stage of the exam with the rest of them. It was rare enough that he was in the village at all, after all, and he _was_ known as one of the most powerful shinobi that Konoha had to offer - but Jiraiya wasn't really as vain as to think that these seasoned shinobi were all quite so tense just because the _Great Jiraiya_ was in the room. No, his taking an interest in something as trivial as the Chunin Exams sent a message to all the Jonin here that none of them could misinterpret.

Something big, and something dangerous was going down, and now all your cute little Genin are right in the middle of it.

"Jiraiya-sama."

The Sannin turned to meet Ibiki as he entered the room, sounding particularly grave.

"Something happened _already?_" He asked, not quite believing that even Orochimaru would have made his move in what was essentially a written exam.

"Not... Exactly." The scarred interrogation expert started hesitantly. "Though I have to admit, you have one hell of an interesting student - he aced the test, by the way, and we still have no idea how. Kid went to the bathroom, accompanied, was in there not even a minute before coming out, sitting down, and filling out the entire damn test. The other proctors are tearing their hair out trying to figure it out. More importantly, he gave me this." And with that, Ibiki handed Jiraiya his student's exams, complete with the fuinjutsu message still inscribed onto it.

"Pretty clever bit of fuinjutsu, if I'm honest. I've not seen anything like it before... One of yours?"

"Actually, no." Jiraiya answered, allowing a small smirk to form on his face out of pride in his student - plus, he knew full well that every other Jonin in the room was listening in. "Naruto came up with it himself. It's still in development mind you. He's looking for a way to send messages over longer distances - for now it's limited to short range communication. Still, pretty good for his first original seal, with only a few weeks of learning the art, no?" Jiraiya asked, deliberately utterly understating the impressiveness of the accomplishment - especially if you were unaware of the blond's little Kage Bunshin trick.

"Hang on-" The Jonin sensei of Team 8, Yuuhi Kurenai, couldn't help but interrupt. "You expect us to believe that Uzumaki Naruto - who graduated last in the Academy and spent his entire childhood pranking the village rather than train - has managed to learn fuinjutsu to a greater degree than most Jonin do, in a few weeks? Jiraiya-sama, I'm sorry, but that's impossible - even for someone taught by a Sannin."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the Jonin - both at the questioning of his integrity, and at the doubting of his student; of whom he was becoming increasingly proud of. But the sound of a little orange book snapping shut stopped any thought of Jiraiya needing to reply on his student's behalf.

Because after all, though the village council had managed to block Kakashi's attempts to adopt Uzumaki Naruto, then block his attempts to get in contact; and though fate had decided to intervene and see to it that it was Jiraiya, not Kakashi that was to train Naruto, Hatake Kakashi had spent a good part of his ANBU career defending his sensei's son. From villagers who would wreck his apartment, and even attempt to get violent (though Kakashi and the ANBU had seen to it that Naruto never knew about attempts to physically harm him, few as they were); to a kidnapping attempt from a visiting foreign shinobi whom had been informed that Naruto was Konoha's jinchuuriki, and had decided to take advantage of his new found knowledge (though once again, Kakashi had stopped the attempt before it had even reached Naruto) - Kakashi had always done his best to at least _defend_ Uzumaki Naruto.

"No, Kurenai, he doesn't." Kakashi spoke up, his usual idle-sounding voice conspicuously absent. "He expects us to believe that the Uzumaki Naruto who mastered the Kage Bunshin in a few hours without any guidance at all did that. Or maybe it was the Uzumaki Naruto who managed to create and learn the fundamentals of a taijutsu style tailored specifically to him - despite having spent his entire time at the Academy being intentionally tutored in a style specifically designed to ensure that he would be killed by an enemy in combat."

"But then Jiraiya-sama could also have meant the Uzumaki Naruto who relearned the entire Academy syllabus in a few weeks; or the one that in only a few months as a Genin has already successfully completed a solo B-rank infiltration mission, an A-rank solo mission, and quite possibly saved the lives of both of his Genin team-mates on yet another A-rank mission, that I happened to have led."

"I suppose that given your casual dismissal of Naruto's ability that your team's mission record must be at least as impressive as his - though really, I imagine it must be that much better."

Kurenai could do nothing but stand open mouthed as he rebuked her in a tone that only ANBU recruits had heard from Kakashi.

"Anyway, as much as it makes me proud to hear a few of my student's accomplishments listed like that, I believe I was actually in the middle of discussing something with Ibiki." Jiraiya spoke before Kurenai could respond to defend herself, or even apologise, so that Kakashi's words would have even more impact, but also so Kakashi could say anything more. Judging by the contemplative look on her face - and some of the other Jonin for that matter, Kakashi's speech had managed to have the desired effect.

"I take it the second phase is still being held in Training Ground 44, Ibiki?"

"Yes. Mitarashi Anko's proctoring that exam - it should be due to start any minute now." Ibiki replied, still smiling slightly after Kurenai's reprimanding at the hands of Kakashi. He had particularly enjoyed the implied slight on Kurenai's efforts with her own team - it had been a perfect bit of psychology on Kakashi's part.

"He'll likely make his move during this test - it's the easiest place to get his target alone, so we'll make ours too. Mobilise the ANBU. Have Anko lead a squad into the forest after this Kabuto - I have complete faith in my student's observations, he's likely a spy, and a damn good one if you couldn't tell, Ibiki. I'll be going in after the Snake myself though." Jiraiya paused in contemplation briefly, before adding. "Kakashi will back me up, in case he's not alone. A full team is too great a risk while fighting him, he's on a whole other level, and I can't afford to be protecting ANBU while trying to take him down."

Ibiki nodded sharply, before turning on his heel and leaving the room to carry out the Sannin's orders; whilst Kakashi moved next to Jiraiya as they themselves prepared to head out in search of the traitorous Sannin that had most likely infiltrated the Chunin Exams to abduct Kakashi's student, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Wait, Jiraiya-sama, before you leave... What Kakashi - what you said about Naruto... Is it true?" Kurenai asked, just as the pair was leaving the room.

"You still doubt me? You doubt Kakashi's word too now? To be honest, I don't much care whether you believe it or not, but I will say this: Naruto is streets ahead of just about any Genin I've ever seen other than maybe Minato himself." Jiraiya announced loudly enough for the entire room to hear, to a series of widening, disbelieving eyes.

"But unlike Minato who I tutored really pretty closely until he hit Chunin - I had very little to do with it. I just hope none of your Genin get him in the finals, Kurenai. Kakashi already dressed you down well enough - I'm not sure your pride deserves to have Naruto take apart one of your students right in front of you on top of it."

And with that, Jiraiya left; marveling at Naruto's ability to cause a scene without even being there.

* * *

Inuzuka Hana stared at her and Naruto's entrance into Training Ground 44, aptly named 'The Forest of Death', and couldn't help but feel more than a little bit intimidated. The forest canopy let almost no light into the area itself, so below it was very nearly pitch dark, even in the middle of the day. The trees, even on the outside of the ground were among some of the largest she had ever seen, but their branches twisted and turned around each other, giving the forest an ominous unnatural feel.

A glance at the Haimaru triplets told her they were feeling the same, eyes roaming the forest, bodies stiff and alert before they had even entered yet.

Anko had been bad enough. Making them sign release forms in case they died, making sure to mention the various different creatures that could eat a person that live within what was probably the largest training ground in Konoha. And then there was the way she had licked Kiba's blood from his own face after she had cut him with a kunai - all because he had made been acting a little confidently for the woman's liking.

Needless to say, he hadn't spoken up since then.

The actual task they had was straightforward enough on the face of things. Each team would be give one of two scrolls, and earth scroll, or a heaven scroll. All they had to do, was take one of each to the tower in the centre of the forest-covered area - essentially forcing the teams to fight each other in order to get the scroll they do not have. They were to be given a five day time limit in which to get the scroll they needed from another squad, and get to the tower, or they would be disqualified. Also, if a team has a member incapacitated when they reach the tower, or they try and take a look inside one of the scrolls; that team would also be disqualified.

The proctor had promised to cut their numbers by half after all, and this task would accomplish that at a minimum.

Despite all this however, Naruto looked utterly calm and unworried by the nature and location of the task ahead of them. In fact, the only hint of worry she had managed to spot on her friend's whiskered face was only for a moment, where he had met Gaara's eyes during Anko's speech on the dangers of the Forest. She had very nearly forgotten that her team-mate had been singled out by who was probably the most dangerous Genin here.

"How do you want to do this? Everybody knows about Gaara, so hopefully we won't have to worry about him - we've just got to do this fast so he doesn't get a chance to find us. I don't really feel like fighting him without any Jonin around unless I absolutely have to." Asked as they waited to gain entrance to the Forest of Death.

"Well, the teams from the smaller villages tend to be far more average than those from the major ones. Six out of ten teams from Suna got through the first test, which probably means they sent a very good set of candidates, so we should avoid them. We're not going to go after any Konoha teams unless we absolutely have to, so that's almost 20 teams out of the way straight away. I also think we should avoid the Oto and Kusa teams if we can possibly help it - especially that Kusa team." Naruto responded, never looking away from the forest in front of them.

"Which essentially leaves us with the teams from Amegekure, and the one team from Takigakure, then?"

"Yeah. I couldn't tell if there was anything special about any of them really; but how about since we're technically allied with Taki, we gun for the Ame teams?"

Hana smirked, having already guessed how Naruto would view the situation. "I thought you might say that, so I had one of the triplets each get a feel for the scents of one of the Ame teams. That means we can track at least three teams fairly easily once we're in the forest. Hopefully, at least one of hem has the Heaven scroll we need."

"Brilliant thinking!" The blond exclaimed, his grin matching her own, and not leaving his face even as the gates to their entrance opened before them. "Pick a team then, and let's go kick their asses."

* * *

Thirty seconds since the gates had opened.

That was all the time it took for Yakushi Kabuto's team to come under attack - far too soon for it be another team in the exam. They had barely even gotten into the forest before his two Genin team-mates had been felled by a flurry of poisoned senbon, as they walked straight into an ambush.

Kabuto had known the second he had sensed the strikes aimed at him, that somehow his old village had discovered he was a spy for Orochimaru - how, he didn't know - but there wasn't a Genin alive that could have set up an ambush that he couldn't detect; and the fact that he had walked right into this one unawares told him all he needed to know.

ANBU.

Things hadn't even really started, and already they were looking grim. Still, Kabuto had spied in countries and villages all across the elemental nations, and had been a ninja for as long as he could really remember, performing highly dangerous, behind enemy lines missions. He hadn't gotten this far without being damn good at what he did.

He immediately ducked under the first slash from a Katana wielding ANBU that had appeared on his left, losing a shave of hair as he did so, and launched himself into a forward roll to avoid the kunai strike aimed at his spinal chord; and almost in one motion, launched a kunai at each of the first two attackers, giving himself enough time to activate his preferred ninjutsu.

_Chakra no Mesu. _

Blue chakra formed around both his hands as the silver haired spy settled into a loose fighting stance. The chakra that surrounded his hands formed teh basis of his taijutsu technique, and was one of the reasons that he could be so deadly in combat. It allowed his hands to act as scalpels that made internal cuts on the victims body - allowing him to damage organs, cut blood vessels, and sever muscle tendons with even the slightest touch.

Kabuto allowed a small smirk to form on his face, as he sensed a third ANBU making his move behind him.

Despite his apparent confidence however, Kabuto was worried. He had killed more than the four ANBU that had ambushed him before in one go before - the trouble was, he had always been on the front foot, ambushing two or three at a time and killing them before they could react. Now, he had been forced into an open battle, and Kabuto wasn't sure he'd be able to come out on top like this.

He span suddenly, turning to face the masked man that had attempted to take him from behind, and blocked the man's punch with his right palm, before dropping into a crouch, and striking at his leg with his left, dropping the man to the ground, the tendons in his leg ripped to shreds by his scalpels. He wasn't given time to finish the man however, as the katana wielding ANBU that had attacked first attacked with several jabbed thrusts, forcing him to immediately go on the defensive, and take his focus from his felled enemy in order to weave in and out of the strikes. A costly mistake on his part.

"_Doton: Ganban Kyū_."

Kabuto cursed as the downed man finished the hand signs for the Doton technique, and pillars of stone burst out of the ground around him, trying to form into a dome-shaped prison. Silently, Kabuto began his own sequence of seals, and activated a Doton jutsu of his very own -_ Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu - _allowing him to sink into the ground and escape the makeshift prison.

The cat-masked, katana wielding ANBU tensed as he saw the stone enclose around their target, extending his senses, looking for any sign of the spy. He was simply too good to be caught by something so simple. All it had done was bought them some time to regroup, and tend to their wounded comrade, which his other two team-mates had already begun to do, leaving him to cover them.

In fact, his target was so good, he didn't even notice the man emerge from the ground behind him until he had cut both his Achilles tendons, dropping him to the floor with a cry of agony.

Kabuto was grinning, as he raised his kunai to finish the first of the ANBU squad. They had given him the opportunity to slip into the shadows and turn the tables, and like a true shinobi, that was exactly what he had done. Next came the fun part, where he would pick them off one by-

"_Sen'eijashu_!"

Kabuto gasped in pain as a muddy brown scaled snake clamped down onto his wrist, and another sunk it's teeth into his neck, and immediately felt the fiery hot venom of the creatures enter his bloodstream. His immediate reaction was to attempt to use medical ninjutsu to combat the poison long enough to escape, but it was no use. The pain had almost instantly overwhelmed him, destroying his ability to concentrate. Mere seconds after being bitten, the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a woman in a large tan overcoat walking towards him.

"That's quite enough of that, I think. Yakushi Kabuto: Captured."

Anko's snakes dispelled themselves as the bespectacled spy hit the floor unconscious, giving the ANBU a chance to securely bind him, and apply the chakra restrictive seals used for shinobi prisoners. Given the man's obvious ability, that had gone surprisingly well in Anko's opinion. No casualties, and the muscle injuries sustained could be healed relatively quickly. More importantly, the Cat-masked ANBU's suggestion that she wait in the shadows to look for an opening to incapacitate the man with no fuss had been an excellent one.

Kabuto was an elite, that much was clear, and likely easily a match for her. But he had gotten confident - too confident in his own abilities, and assumed that he would be able to sense any hidden threats that had held back. He was wrong. Anko wasn't Konoha's most gifted assassin for no reason after all. Very few people could find her when she put the effort in to hide herself.

Still, now she had more important things to concern herself with.

"Come on, Kabuto-kun. I think it's time you and me went somewhere quiet - somewhere private - that way, you don't have to be embarrassed when I get you screaming..."

* * *

Masuda Miyazaki knew full well that he was never going to be a famously strong or powerful shinobi. He simply didn't have the ability to become a Kage. Hell, he didn't even think he really had the potential to make Jonin, if he was being totally honest with himself.

The 24 year old Amegakure Genin however, had never been one to let that stop him from trying to improve himself. He knew he didn't have any prodigious skills or abilities; but he had ground himself into the ground perfecting his few ninjutsu, and had all but entirely mastered his favorite senbon techniques through hours upon hours of agonizing hard work.

"We've been moving for hours, Miyazaki, surely it's time for a break?" His rather rotund team-mate whined from a few feet behind him, obviously struggling to keep up.

He bit back a tired sigh.

While he had spent a decade taking his career as a shinobi at least somewhat seriously, his team-mates had not. They had, after a few years, come to the same realisation about their potential as he had - but that realisation had crushed _their_ drive. While they were happy to stagnate as Genin, below average, and maybe retire early having done their part for their village; Miyazaki was determined to push on beyond what he considered his own limits to be, and even more determined to become Chunin at this time of asking. And he knew he wouldn't be able to achieve that with his teammates driven to exhaustion trying to keep up with him, so he signaled to them to drop to the ground from the trees they had been traveling in to take a break.

And naturally, that's when everything went to hell.

The second his two team-mates' feet touched the moss covered forest floor, two blond figures broke out of the muddy ground, landing a solid punch to the underside of both of their chins - knocking them both out cold. Having barely enough time to even think, he leapt to his side - just dodging the third emergent blond - only to just barely get up a guard in time to block a frontal assault from a giant whirlwind of white that had been waiting to attack any stragglers. Despite his guard however, the attack sent him barreling back into the nearest tree, and left him struggling to move, face first in the dirt.

Lifting his head, he saw the the blond's that had attacked him and his team disappear, leaving a brown haired girl standing alone with her three nin-dogs.

Kage Bunshin then. His entire team had been taken apart by a Kage Bunshin, and what looked like an Inuzuka girl and her dogs. Of course, it made total sense that the Konoha shinobi would be experts at setting up ambushes in a forest ambush - in that respect, this test had been designed to give them the home advantage it seemed

He tested his arms, only to hiss in pain as he realised that the strike had broken _both _of his arms when he blocked it. Using chakra to reinforce his arms would perhaps have saved him - given him a chance to fight back, though by himself, it was likely that he would have lost - but the ambush had been absolutely perfectly timed. He hadn't been given the chance to think, and he didn't use chakra reinforcement enough for it to have been instinct.

That still left the location of the girl's blond comrade, how-

"I'm really sorry, by the way!" A voice, far too cheerful for his liking chirped in his ear. "I would have liked to fight you guys properly, but we can't really afford to take unnecessary risks considering the kind of guys that are still in this forest. Don't worry though, you'll be able to try again at the next exams!"

And with that, Miyazaki's world went black, as the ring end of a kunai struck against the back of his head.

"All that for another damn Earth Scroll." Naruto groused loudly, after he and Hana had searched the three downed Ame shinobi for their scrolls.

"Oh stop whinging, Naruto - After all, it's not like we didn't get _anything_ out of this, is it?" Hana answered with a wry grin as she checked over the Haimaru triplet that had launched the attack on the remaining Ame ninja, just to be certain he wasn't in any way injured before they moved on.

Naruto laughed at Hana's reminder. She was after all, perfectly right - and Naruto was really quite happy with what they _had _gained from the encounter.

While it perhaps wasn't entirely ethical to loot the teams they defeated, Naruto figured it also wasn't against the rules, and had decided they should take the opportunity to add to their own stocks; especially since it wouldn't add any weight to their carry loads since Naruto had been sealing everything anyway, and what they had found on the Ame ninja rather vindicated the decision in Naruto's opinion.

On top of a healthy stock of kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, and other standard ninja gear (including a Fuuma Shuriken, something Naruto had never been able to afford on top of the standard gear he required before); the trio had also had on the possession a collection of umbrella's, that after a simple investigation, had turned out to be weapons. They used a fuuinjutsu trigger, storage, and release mechanism that meant that the umbrella's could be made to fire a veritable storm of senbon at an enemy from above.

This in itself was useful as a one-shot attack in a battle. The attack would have a large spread, and timed right, it could take out an entire group of enemies. But that wasn't what had really caught Naruto's eye. What had done that was the fuuinjutsu mechanism that made the weapon function.

He wasn't a fuuinjutsu expert by any means, but after several weeks of tuition under Fukasaku and Jiraiya, and using as many Bunshin as he could muster, he had become really quite proficient in a very small amount of time; and just by looking, Naruto could tell that the seals used while not particularly complex were unique to Ame. Not only that, but Naruto could already see several ways to modify and change the weapon so that it would work in different ways.

This meant several different things. Firstly, Konoha (and all ninja villages for that matter) paid what was in effect a bounty, for recovered foreign techniques that Konoha didn't already have. So, if Konoha truly didn't have these seals archived, he could submit them for the bounty, making the seals available to the village as a whole. Secondly, Konoha did the same for weapon designs and the like in order to encourage innovation; which meant that should Naruto find ways to change and modify the weapon, he would be able to get payment for the design as well.

Hana had taken one for herself, and Naruto had taken two - one to use, and the other to tinker with once they had gotten out of the forest, and Naruto couldn't help but look forward to it. He loved to set up traps, and the mechanisms of the umbrella could almost certainly be reworked into different kinds of traps and weapons.

Naruto was however broken out of his thoughts by the sound of all three of the Haimaru brothers growling, hackles raised, trying to locate whoever it was they had caught the scent of.

Naruto almost almost laughed. Hunter to hunted in the blink of an eye. Still, all of them were still totally fresh, and the triplets weren't going to allow them to be caught off guard easily. Whoever it was about to attack them, they had probably been hoping to get the jump on a team exhausted after fighting.

"Ah, we were hoping to catch you by surprise - especially since we know you have an Earth Scroll... Don't suppose you could save us the trouble of fighting and give one to us? I'd hate to have to kill a bunch of kids and their pets." Drawled a voice from the treeline, revealing a Suna Genin leaning up against one of the giant oak trees of the forest. He was dressed in standard Suna shinobi wear - much like Konoha's, but with a colour scheme of greys and sandy yellows; but most importantly in Naruto's eyes, was the curved blades of the tekko-kagi, shinobi claws, the Genin wore strapped to his right hand.

As taijutsu specialist then. Which of course meant that at least one of his unseen team-mates was likely a long range specialist, and would probably try to attack them from out of sight.

Unfortunately for them, Naruto hadn't only been learning seals and taijutsu with the toads.

Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the life around him, allowing it's energy to surround and envelop him - but never actually enter his own system.

This apparently was the first stage of learning an incredibly powerful technique taught by most of the clans of summons that shinobi tended to use. Learning to take in and manipulate the energy of nature itself as if it was chakra, and amplifying your own natural abilities untold amounts. It was unbelievably risky to learn, and took a great amount of time - but the risks were worth the benefits.

Unfortunately, this put an unbelievable strain on ones own mind, body, and even chakra system - and quite simply, Naruto's body was too young to be able to handle the strain, and it would remain that way for at least another few years. That however, didn't mean he couldn't learn to interact with the natural energy that saturated pretty much everything, learn to sense the fluctuations of the energy, and what they meant. Fukasaku had been insistent that he learn to meditate, and this was why - the focus required to interact and eventually manipulate natural energy was immense, and without being able to meditate properly, to become utterly peaceful and at one with nature - it was impossible.

But once Naruto had begun to do this, he found it to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of his life. Being able to sense life itself, the very essence of existence was utterly magical to the blond - and it became even more so when he arrived in Konoha. With the help of a good hour of meditation, he found that he could sense almost the entire village, and how it heaved with the life and energy of the people that lived there.

He was just lucky that he was being given time by the Suna shinobi to focus enough to sense his immediate surroundings. He could only do it remaining utterly still, and even then, it still took him about a minute before he could really get a sense for what was going on in the tree line surrounding himself and Hana. But almost as soon as his senses stretched that far, he felt the other two presences. They were surrounded, trapped in the middle of an equilateral triangle of Suna ninja, with the one that had spoken at the point.

It was a very good ambush, but one that relied on the fact that two of their team was hidden, and ready to ambush. Unfortunately for them, Naruto now knew where all three of this team were hiding. Giving Hana a surreptitious signal behind his back to tell her to let him take the lead, he fingered a set of smoke bombs before grinning confidently at the Suna-nin, in order to try and unsettle him.

"Normally we would give you our spare - you know, to save ourselves some energy you know? But there's two problems with that. The first, is that you just revealed that you have the scroll _we_ need by letting us know which you were looking for. The second..." Suddenly, the blond's smile morphed into a glare just as his smoke bombs hit the ground, obscuring the Konoha shinobi from view.

"You just threatened one of _my_ comrades. And for that, you're going down."

* * *

"Now, let's begin the battle for each other's scroll..."

Uchiha Sasuke watched, frozen in morbid fascination as the lone Kusagakure shinobi that had approached Team 7 swallowed his own team's scroll whole, meaning Team 7 would likely have to kill him to get to it. Something that to be honest, bothered him more than he'd ever admit. Glancing to his left, Sakura was in even worse shape than he was, trembling at the knees in undisguised fear. He would have scoffed at her inability to keep her fear under control, if it wasn't for the fact that something about this enemy had chilled _him_ to the very bone.

"...With our lives on the line." The dark-haired woman veritably hissed this last sentence at them, twisted smile emerging onto her increasingly crazed expression.

And then, without warning, she turned her gaze on him; the sheer blood lust contained in her eyes freezing him to the spot.

He swallowed back a mouthful of bile as he felt her chakra slither over him, trapping him in a blanket of fear, fear and promises of death. Her killing intent was suffocating, on a whole other level than anything he'd ever felt before - and he had faced down Momochi Zabuza, an A-ranked Jonin on his first C-ranked mission. Christ, it was even worse than the blood lust he'd felt from his brother on _that _night. The night where that man had cut down his entire clan.

But before he could even try and move, the visions started. He felt the blinding agony as his entrails burst from his chest in violent explosion of gore. He felt the searing pain of a thousand katana piercing him simultaneously. The blissful release as he died over and over again, taking the pain away for just a second before it started all over again.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, _such_ a disappointment."

And just like that, Sasuke was back in the forest, trembling on his hands and knees, wondering why he could taste and smell vomit until he focused enough to realise that he had thrown up at some point after collapsing.

Sakura was no better off. Her gaze had become vacant, even as a steady stream of tears fell from her eyes, and she too had collapsed. She hadn't been able to claw her way back from the visions like he had, she was still there in her mind dying, over and over...

"Orochimaru. S-ranked missing-nin. Traitor to Konoha. One of the Densetsu no Sannin, and former team-mates of Tsunade and Jiraiya under the tutelage of the Hokae. I take it you are here for the Sharingan?"

Sasuke stared at his other team-mate in barely disguised shock.

He was still standing, despite having been a victim of the same jutsu he and Sakura had been. The only thing that gave it away was the slight gritting of his teeth, and the minute shaking in his hands as he pulled out the scroll and brush he used for his ninja techniques. But more importantly than that... Orochimaru? S-ranked missing nin? Sharingan?

How the hell would Sai, his usually stoically silent team-mate, whose abilities even Sasuke had begun to respect, know _any_ of that.

The ninja, Orochimaru, merely chuckled from his position in the tree ahead of them, apparently amused by the accusations. "Oho, apparently Danzou is keeping his minions rather more informed than he used to."

Sasuke glanced back at Sai. _Danzou?_ But the pale Genin's faced hadn't so much as twitched.

"It is the duty of all Konoha shinobi to be aware of threats to the village. And to eliminate them when they appear." And with that, Sai's paintbrush began to move over the surface of the blank scroll he'd readied with practiced ease. "_Ninpo: Chōjū Giga."_

The moment Sai's brush left the scroll's surface, a pair of lions constructed from ink burst forth, roaring in fury, and charged at the Sannin. But this only made his sickening smile grow.

"What a wonderful technique!" He exclaimed loudly, like a biologist who had just discovered a curious looking species of animal. "But... I do believe I of all people have been underestimated..."

But Sai was already focused on his work, brush furiously moving against paper, causing even more creatures to emerge and attack the shinobi who was dispatching them in an astonishingly casual manner - lions, snakes, various birds, and other animals Sasuke didn't even recognise all emerged and attacked, all apart from one. An giant ink eagle stayed and lowered itself before the Uchiha, inviting him to ride.

"Uchiha-san, you must leave now. Take Haruno-san too. He cannot be allowed to take the Sharingan from you."

"Sai, you can't beat him - you need help!" Sasuke practically shouted, grabbing Sai by the shoulders and forcing him to face him.

"You are right, Uchiha-san, I cannot win. But ensuring he does not gain possession of the Sharingan is far more important than my life. And besides, it is my duty as your comrade to protect you, is not? The eagle will carry you for as long as I am alive. You must get to the tower. You must-"

"Are you children _quite_ finished? I do hope I haven't been forgotten about... Unfortunately, I can't allow you to leave, Sasuke-kun."

Sai's eyes only widen a fraction as he turned to face Orochimaru, only to see that the area surrounding the Sannin was covered in splashed pools of ink, that Sasuke couldn't help but superimpose blood over. It was as if a massacre had taken place in their location in the canopy of the forest.

"It really was a wonderful technique by the way, child. But you have become a nuisance."

Sasuke and Sai moved almost at exactly the same time into a panicked retreat - neither had seen the man move, but suddenly, he had just appeared in a blur in front of them, sick grin still attached to that face of his. Unfortunately, Orochimaru was not willing to allow Sai the time to escape, and in a flash he had landed a vicious, bone-crunching kick to the boy's ribcage, and grabbed him nonchalantly by the shirt.

"I'm sorry child, but Danzou should really know by know to keep his tools out of my way."

And with that, he simply let go, allowing the boy to fall to the ground below.

Sasuke watched in horrified fascination as he realised that Sai had fallen unconscious, and that they were high enough up that the fall would kill him. Time slowed, even as his sensei's words came into his head.

_"Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash." ... __"Sasuke, don't worry, I'll protect you even if it costs me my life - I don't let my comrades die!" ... "Besides, it is my duty as your comrade to protect you, is it not?"_

Comrade? Is that what drove the impossibly strong Kakashi? Is that what drove Sai? Could something like that ever match the hate of Uchiha Itachi?

More importantly, for the first time in a long time, the ever present weight of his family's massacre had lightened since he had become a part of Team 7 - since he had gained comrades. Once again, there was some kind of light in his life, three of them to be exact - could he fight for them? Was he willing to die for them?

His gaze focused in on Sai still falling, and Sharingan finally blazing, Uchiha Sasuke found his answer.

_"I don't let my comrades die!"_

* * *

"Hana, take the guy in front of us. I know where his team-mates are, so I'll deal with both of them. Watch out for the tekko-kagi on his right arm - given that they're from Suna, it's probably poisoned."

Hana was on the move instantly without even a moments hesitation. If their first mission together had taught her that she could trust Naruto with her life, every single encounter with him since had proven to her beyond all reasonable doubt that this was a ninja who she could follow without question.

In their spars, he had proven he was a natural in combat - practically born to fight - and far above the level most Genin were expected to be at. But more tellingly for her, in their preparation for the Exams, he had proven to not only be a strategic expert well out of her league; able to prepare situation specific strategies or the two of them in combat for almost any situation she had been able to come up with, but also come up with various ways for them to maneuver and get around as a two man team that best protected them from an ambush.

Not only that, he had proven himself to be an utter font of knowledge on just about everything shinobi, and had been able to brief her on every participating village and their likely combat styles and tendencies.

So when Naruto had muttered instructions in her ear as he rushed past her under the cover of a smoke bomb, it was without even the slightest shred of doubt or resentment that she obeyed, despite her age, despite her experience.

After the battle, she would think back and marvel at how natural it felt for her - naturally aggressive and stubborn as an Inuzuka, resistant to being commanded by just anybody - to follow what may as well have been an order. And with a wry smile, she would decide that she should get used to it.

Because after all, it was a Hokage's job to provide orders for their shinobi in battle.

But reflection would come later. Blood was pounding in her ears, and her heartbeat raced, as she felt the excitement of battle hit her for what felt like the first time in an age. Spars were exciting enough - especially when Naruto was involved - but her med-nin training and duties had kept her out of battle for such a long time that she had forgotten the exhilaration of it, the joy her Inuzuka side took from fighting.

She couldn't help but grin ferally as she emerged from the smoke, charging straight at the tree that the Suna shinobi still stood in, arrogant smirk still plastered on his face.

She'd have to do something about that.

The timing of the Haimaru triplets was perfect for just that task in fact, as all three emerged from the smoke behind her and leapt into the air, and began spinning, until all three had blurred into one single, enormous tornado like attack. They had been moving faster than her, and Hana didn't need to adjust her speed as the snowy white triplets barreled over head, straight into the trunk of the tree the Suna shinobi had been in, tearing it to ribbons in an explosion of wood and leaves.

The Suna nin jumped out of the tree, but that was what Hana had been waiting for, and leapt to intercept and attack while he was unable to dodge and shaken from the blast.

"You're not going to get me with the same move you used on those Ame ninja!"

The Suna shinobi had apparently realised her plan, and met her attack in midair, resulting in a brief exchange of punches and kicks before their momentum took them apart again. Hana wasn't willing to relent however, and spun on her heels the second she landed, darting straight back at the enemy, who was only just turning to face her, even as the Inuzuka made up the distance.

He ducked under her first kick, and lashed out at her leg with his claw forcing her to jump with her standing leg in order to avoid. However, before he could capitalise on her position, he was forced to leap back in order to avoid the razor sharp claws of one of the Inuzuka dogs.

And just like that, the Suna shinobi was on the back foot, forced into being heavily defensive as the foursome attacked him all at once, and just about relentlessly. He was fast enough land a glancing blow on one, but the others would cover for the downed dog, until he was well enough to rejoin the attack; and not only that, they were being exceedingly cautious about his claw, not allowing him to even scratch one of them with it. He was doing well enough - he was good at taijutsu after all - but he was taking more and more damage as the onslaught wore on, and soon, all the body blows would add up. The Inuzuka didn't look like she was tiring.

He needed some space. Some room to use ninjutsu. Fortunately, he had planned for such situations.

Reaching into his equipment pouch, even as he blocked and parried as many of the blows as he possibly could; he palmed the item he needed and withdrew it, all the while channeling his chakra through it.

Hana cursed as she recognised what the enemy was trying to do, and paused to shout out a hurried warning. "Close your eyes, it's a flash tag!" But the warning had come too late, and the scene of their battle was enveloped in a blinding white light, with only Hana and the enemy managing to shield their eyes in time, effectively leaving the triplets disabled for a short amount of time.

Unfortunately, the Suna shinobi had fled back up into the trees and was already rushing through hand seals.

"_Katon: Housenka no jutsu_!"

A volley of small fireballs spewed out from the Suna nin's mouth, aimed in a spread pattern across the entire clearing, and for the first time in the short fight, Hana felt a spark of anger. He was aiming at her partners. The partners he had already effectively incapacitated. That, she could not allow to slide.

Crouching slightly, she formed her own seal, and practically snarled out the name of her own jutsu as it began to take effect, making her appearance and nature even more feral. "_Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu." _She leapt into the air aimed straight at the oncoming fireballs, taking full advantage of her now chakra enhanced movement and reflexes, and launched straight into the whirlwind like motions of the trademark Inuzuka taijutsu move_. "Gatsuuga!"_

She torpedoed straight into the flames, drawing them into the tornado of her technique, forcing them to die instantly; and just before she impacted with a tree, she pulled out of the Gatsuuga, using chakra to stick herself to the surface of the trunk in a low crouch, poised to strike.

"You want to see a real set of claws, scumbag?" She growled, brandishing her elongated, chakra reinforced nails that had developed into dog-like claws; but gave no opportunity for the Suna nin to answer before launching into an attack straight at him using her increased speed. His eyes simply couldn't keep up, and the enemy didn't see her until she was actually in his face, delivering a left-handed slash across his cheek, followed almost instantly by a devastating right hook, that sent the boy tumbling away from her, unconscious.

She let out a slight breath and released her Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu, her eyes narrowed in frustration. She had been too eager to fight, and lost herself in the rush of it. Rather than end it straight away like she should have, she had drawn it out, and it had been the triplets that had paid the price. A dog's sight and hearing were easily damaged, and while the flash tag wouldn't have done anything permanent, it would have been seriously painful, and it was likely that they'd not be fit to actually fight for at least a day.

She sighed, and decided she ought to restrain the enemy and see to the triplets, before making sure Naruto wasn't in any trouble. She hadn't gotten any messages so she assumed everything was alright. Plus Naruto was even better than her, so there really wasn't any rush to go find him.

But then, this was Naruto. The kid who on their very first mission together managed to get attacked by a pair of Jonin and their army of messed up stone warriors; before pissing off an ever so slightly insane Jinchuuriki with blood lust issues, who had entered this very exam to take his head, and was now wandering this very forest looking for him.

On second thoughts, maybe she _should_ hurry.

* * *

Sasuke moved without thinking, instincts driving his chakra enhanced leap after his falling pale team-mate, narrowing his body and making sure his body was perfectly vertical to reduce the air resistance slowing him, allowing him to gain on Sai. Reaching behind his back even as he fell, he took a kunai and a spool of ninja wire from his equipment pouch, and with practiced ease tied one end of the wire to the ring of his kunai, and the other to his left arm. And then, he waited. Timing would be everything.

His sharingan eyes showed him a hundred different outcomes of each and every move he could make from here, and his brain processed them at highly accelerated speeds, telling him the precise timing that would allow him to do what he was about to do without causing massive damage to himself or Sai. He'd caught up with the black haired Genin now, and another few seconds was all it took until he was falling ahead of him a few meters away.

His eyes narrowed. And then the moment arrived. He sent his kunai at the tree branch he had fallen past a few moments earlier, and felt the line instantly tight, and his momentum pull him into a swing towards his team-mate, the angle of the swing perfectly arranged so he could be caught at the the fastest moment to reduce the stress on the wire.

Seconds since he had jumped, Sasuke landed on a tree branch far below, Sai held under his arm.

"The Sharingan's ability to process information is remarkable, isn't it, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke stiffened as he felt both the cold steel of a kunai pressed against his throat, and the warm breath of the Sannin on his neck at the same time. The man had beaten him here while he had been in _freefall_. That kind of speed was inhuman, almost unbelievable in fact. And the fact that Sasuke hadn't sensed him at all...

"But killing you like this would be ever so boring, I want to _play._"

The very moment the kunai left his throat he moved, dropping down into a crouch, using his left hand to move into a handstand and launching a trio of kicks at the man stood behind him, that were all swatted aside as though they were blows made by a toddler.

Sasuke paid it no mind.

Pushing himself into a forward flip, he landed on his feet and immediately leapt away to the next branch, putting some distance between him and the Sannin, and allowing him to put Sai down so he could fight properly - and then turned his head to glare at his enemy, Sharingan alight in the dark forest that existed below the canopy.

Orochimaru's smile only grew. Sasuke hadn't realised, but there was now a third tomoe in those eyes of his. It was time for him to truly test the limits of those eyes.

The Sannin leapt forward at the Genin, and was within striking range in seconds, immediately launching into a slowed version of a brutal taijutsu combo. Right jab, blocked with left; leg sweep jumped over, follow up series of punches danced around and blocked. The fierce exchanged continued, Sasuke working purely on instinct and Sharingan fueled anticipation; Orichimaru's antagonising, casual expression never even faltering no matter how Sasuke tried to attack him.

And suddenly, just like that Orochimaru leapt back and ran through a series of hand seals that even without the Sharingan, Sasuke recognised; _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu._

The Uchiha set himself to dodge, but could only gape at the size of the fireball the Sannin had directed at him. It flew towards him bigger than anything he had ever seen Kakashi or Itachi produce, and he suddenly realised that he wouldn't be able to dodge the deadly ninjutsu in time, let alone get his team-mate out of the line of fire at the same time.

He raced through his own set of seals, and launched a much smaller fireball at Orochimaru's before immediately turning and picking up his fallen teammate, and throwing himself off the branch they had been on, hoping he had done enough.

The sound of the fireball colliding with the tree was cataclysmic, and the roar of the blast rang in Sasuke's ears as he fell. The jutsu was designed to explode upon impact for maximum damage, and that was exactly what it did, and the resultant shock wave, more than the explosion itself, was what did Sasuke the most damage in the end. It pulsed out from the area of impact, throwing the Uchiha and Sai sideways at the nearest tree, and all Sasuke could do was maneuver his body so that it was between Sai and the tree, taking impact damage himself, and dropping to the forest floor along with his team-mate, which was now close enough to be a survivable distance.

He tested his arms first, trying to move through the pain, knowing that he only had a few moments before Orochimaru would be right there with them.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, _such_ a disappointment." Sasuke froze, and his breath caught in his throat. He was already here, standing, nonchalantly across from him leaning against a tree. "You will never get your revenge at that level, Sasuke-kun. You'll never get it with this village, and the people in it holding you back." The man's eyes gleamed dangerously as he began to move through hand seals at a leisurely place, freezing the Uchiha in place with that terrifying killer intent once more. "Do no fear though, Sasuke-kun. I am here, and I will help. I will show you _power_."

The Sannin finally stopped his sequence of seals, and suddenly, his neck began to extend from his body, like a grotesque boneless snake; and began slithering through the air towards him, the man's teeth becoming razor sharp fangs that oozed a terrifying pitch black venom. He could only watch as the man's head snaked towards him agonisingly slowly, his heart pounding harder and faster against his chest, as those deadly looking fangs got ever closer, and the predatory gaze of Orochimaru penetrated further and further into his very soul.

He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe - the only thing that he really knew with any certainty, the only thought that penetrated his mind with any real clarity, was that he was _going _to die. Orochimaru was going to kill him, and it was going to happen right this second.

He closed his eyes tightly, unable to bring himself to witness the moment of his own demise.

"Maa, Sasuke; don't look so worried, didn't I tell you that I wouldn't let one of my cute little Genin die?"

That voice. He knew that voice. Rationally, Sasuke knew that he couldn't be here in this forest. And yet, that voice, that casual, airy tone that never changed even in the most serious of circumstances - it was utterly unmistakable.

He dared to open his eyes, and there he was, Kakashi-sensei; facing Orochimaru, but looking at him over his shoulder with that god-forsaken ridiculous smile on his face. He had thought it ridiculous, that expression; but when facing Zabuza, and even more so now, Sasuke was infinitely reassured by it.

"Now Sasuke, I need you to try and move for me. You need to get Sai and Sakura away from here. We'll take care of Orochimaru from here, so you don't need to worry about him. None of you are seriously hurt, so leave the area and try and carry on with the exam. Orochimaru won't get past us."

_Us?_

And then Sasuke saw him. The sealing scroll that hung at waist height on his back. The unmistakable spiky white hair, and the red haori that had become synonymous with the man over his many years of service to Konoha.

At that moment, he had never been more grateful to his sensei in his life. Kakashi had bought with him the only man in Konoha, other than perhaps the Hokage, that stood a chance against someone like Orochimaru. Sasuke was no expert on all of the powerful and famous shinobi Konoha had produced over the years - there were a great many after all, and he was more focused on joining them in that category, rather than learning about them - but he was certain that not a single person in Konoha could fail to recognise Jiraiya of the Sannin.

And judging by the furious look on Orochimaru's face, Jiraiya's former teammate knew that he wouldn't be able to get past the Toad summoner without some serious effort. Effort that would of course attract even more Konoha shinobi. Even for someone like Orochimaru, those odds weren't good, and he was a man that liked to ensure that the odds were stacked firmly in his favour.

Either way, Sasuke decided it was time to heed his sensei's advice. He climbed shakily to his feet, and turned to pick up Sai, before heading up into the trees after Sakura, who hopefully hadn't moved from her earlier position.

With any luck, he and his team wouldn't be hearing from Orochimaru in a very long time.

Kakashi's sharingan eye never left the two Sannin before him as he listened to his student make his escape. Even with Jiraiya here, he couldn't risk a single lapse of attention, or he or one of his Genin could end up dead.

"I suppose you think you've stopped me, Jiraiya. As ever, you are nothing more than a simpleton. I _will_ have Sasuke-kun, and I _will_ acquire the sharingan." The pale, serpentine man hissed at his former team-mate; and it was only years of war and danger that allowed Kakashi to suppress a shiver at the sheer bloodlust the man had begun to admit in the face of his old comrade.

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't. But we both know you can't afford to fight me seriously here. Sarutobi-sensei would be here in minutes, and even you wouldn't last long against the both of us."

Orochimaru hissed angrily in response to Jiraiya's claim but didn't try to deny it either. But then, a thought seemed to strike the man, and his mouth formed a cruel grin.

"And yet you don't seem to want to bring me down either, Jiraiya. What's the matter? You're usually so eager... Feeling your age perhaps? Or is it..." The Sannin's reptilian eyes sharpened, and his grin only grew at Jiraiya's now narrowed eyes. "...You're worried about the Jinchuuriki, yes? Two tailed beasts in one exam, how... _volatile_. And one of them - you're newest precious student. You can't fight me seriously just in case one of them breaks free from their containers! You are after all the only one with the knowledge and ability to stop it if it does happen, now that Sarutobi-sensei is ever so old."

Jiraiya said nothing, but that in itself was telling, and Orochimaru's cackle at the tacit admission was proof enough of the truth of the matter.

"Well then, _old friend_, I suppose I'll be taking my leave." The snake Sannin stated, maddened smile never leaving his face, even as he slowly began to melt into the ground. "But know this, Jiraiya. I will have the Sharingan. From Sasuke, or from his children, or from his children's children - It matters not. I can wait for as long as it takes, and you will not be around to stop me forever. _I have all the time in the world_."

And with that, the Sannin was gone, and Kakashi allowed himself a small sigh of relief, before he realised that he had been sweating ever so slightly. The Copy-nin was world famous, one of the elite, and had beaten a good many of the world's best shinobi in his time. But Orochimaru? That was a whole different level, a whole different world to the one that he was currently on.

Unfortunately, it would seem that Kakashi would have to reach that level as soon as possible, or it would be his students - Sasuke - that would pay the price.

* * *

Naruto sidestepped yet another arrow aimed at his head as he continued his all out sprint towards the first of the enemies he had to deal with. She was moving through the trees just ahead of him, stopping only momentarily every few moments to fire a Fuuton chakra reinforced arrow at him. She was apparently rather good, being able to shoot on the turn with just about pinpoint accuracy; and the Fuuton chakra was increasing the speed and power of the arrows to rather uncomfortable levels, and the closer Naruto got, the less time he had to react.

On the flip side, he'd gotten close enough to be able to make out her quiver properly, and he grinned even as he dodged another arrow that punched a hole straight through another tree behind him.

That had been her last shot.

He slowed almost instantly as she reached into her equipment pouch, and after throwing him a glance, threw a smoke bomb at her own feet, enveloping her in a thick white smoke. He suppressed his irritation. That was _his_ trick.

It was the noise that gave away her plan of attack however. A master of the sword like Yuugao-sensei was can draw a sword silently, without even a hint of noise, and strike in the same way. This girl was no master, and in the natural quiet of the forest, he had heard _everything_. The subtle 'click' as the drawing motion began, the slight sound of friction between the blade and scabbard indicating her draw was not as clean as it should be, and the near silent whistle of the blade as it traveled through the air towards him, telling him she had not perfected the movements yet.

If she had just been a little better, her plan would have been a good one.

As it was, Naruto had already focused chakra to a small storage seal on his right wrist, and within a fraction of a second, his Sansetsukon was in his hands in it's staff form, parrying her opening strike, and the two follow up thrusts as she launched her assault. Ducking under a broad slash aimed at his throat, he aimed two thrusts at her stomach with the end of his staff, before flicking it upwards into her jaw sending the red-headed Suna ninja staggering backwards. Spinning, the blond capitalised on his advantage, sweeping the girls legs out from under her, and striking her again in the stomach even as she fell, sending her tumbling across the thick branch they had been fighting on.

She looked up at him, a furious expression on his face, which only increased at his slight smile.

"They told us you Konoha-nin were pathetic, but to not finish off your opponent like that when you had me on the back foot... I'll make you pay for that mistake." She ground out at him, pulling herself to her feet and taking up her stance.

"Go right ahead. I just didn't see any need to be all merciless with an opponent who already lost is all." He answered, easy going smile never leaving his face, knowing that it would infuriate her all the more, and goad her into rushing into her attack carelessly, and without thinking.

The girl only snarled in response as she lunged at him, chakra enhancing her speed, making her even faster than she had been, momentarily taking Naruto aback. He didn't even react with anything other than widened eyes as she completed her attack, driving her katana straight through the Konoha Genin's heart.

"You underestimate me, asshole, and you die - didn't I tell you?" She asked the dying blond, smirking as he struggled to breathe through the pain.

"And didn't I tell you? _You've already lost._ Oh, and by the way..." Naruto looked straight into her eyes, with that casual smile that had gotten her so angry in the first place. "_Boom._"

There was a flash of golden, fiery light, and then the world for the second member of Suna's Team 17 went black.

...

Naruto grimaced mid-block, as he tried to process the memories of the _Bunshin Daibakuha_ that he had sent after the other member of the Suna team that had attacked them, even as he stepped back out of the way of the follow up punch of his own opponent.

To be honest, he had only really intended for that clone to be a distraction to buy him and Hana some time to deal with their individual opponents. The girl had been decent enough, but not nearly on his level with a weapon. He had kept up his sansetsukon training with Yuugao-sensei whenever he had been in the village, and often sparred with her as part of his normal routine anyway. Not only that, but there was a Bojutsu using toad on Mt. Myoboku that had been willing to help him fit a style to his sansetsukon while it was still in it's staff form, essentially meaning he had started to learn two different weapon styles at once, and could switch between them with the same weapon.

That same toad had recommended that he go to the Hokage for help, as apparently, the old man was one of the best Bo staff users in the entire Elemental Nations.

Still, he had decided that since he had never actually used _Bunshin Daibakuha _in a combat situation before, he may as well test it here to see if he could get some damage off on his opponent, and it had worked even better than he had expected. The Bunshin had lured the girl into striking at him so she was close enough not to be able to dodge the explosion as the Bunshin blew up.

He was just grateful that he had thought to under power the clones slightly. At full strength, that blast would have killed her. As it stood, she was probably burnt a little bit, and would hurt like hell when she got up, but would be able to take the exams next time.

Not only that, but the four Bunshin he had sent as support underground had not dispelled, and were probably on there way to him and Hana right this very second to make sure neither of them were having any trouble, so Naruto had decided that he didn't need to try anything particularly risky against his current opponent - a teenager with short black hair, and the Sunagakure symbol shaved into the side of his head - and simply defend while waiting for an opening.

And so he blocked, dodged, and parried as he searched for a clear opportunity to strike, resolving to himself that he was going to try and beat this opponent without his Kage Bunshin as part of his style like he was supposed to.

Or at least, that was the intention.

His Bunshin however, had other plans; and he almost sighed as one of his underground Bunshin used _____Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu _ to drag the Suna shinobi down into the ground by his ankles, effectively stopping the fight dead.

He just sighed. "If he has the scroll, _you're _digging him out of there."

* * *

The second day of the exam soon dawned, revealing a Training Ground 44 considerably less populated with competitors than it had been on the first.

The first day was always the bloodiest.

Eager teams of Genin would dash out of the gates, and taken up with enthusiasm, or adrenaline, or determination, would throw themselves into battle at the earliest opportunity.

The lucky and the strong had already made their way to the tower, scrolls in hand, and the weak had been immediately dismantled. All that remained on a normal second day were those slow getting to the tower, perhaps injured from the previous day's fighting, and the mediocre. Those not weak enough to have been immediately found, but also not strong enough to have taken down enough enemy teams to have located the required scroll.

It was these teams, the mediocre that suffered the most, and the longest. They would have to slug it out in the forest, as exhaustion, starvation, and paranoia began to set in over the next several days - gradually running out of supplies, chakra, and determination as time went by, as each ambush attempt and fight revealed more and more scrolls identical to one's own, and as it became harder and harder to find other teams.

On an ordinary Exam day, it was the period after day two that gave this portion of the exam it's brutal reputation. But this was no ordinary day. And the competitors left, for the most part were far from ordinary.

Naruto and Hana had elected to camp overnight in the forest, the Haimaru triplets being able to take watch meaning they were able to put together a relatively comfortable lookout schedule. That, added to the fact that their injuries from yesterday's fighting, as well as the fact that they now had the scrolls they needed as the Suna team had relinquished a heaven scroll, as well as an earth scroll to spare, meant that Naruto and Hana had woken in considerably good spirits.

Not that they planned on leaving the forest just yet.

Their plan was a pretty simple one, really. Yesterday, after getting the scrolls they needed within the first few hours of the exam; they had managed to make it all the way to the tower with very little trouble. Once there, they had found a spot in an older looking, larger tree, in which it was possible to set up a temporary outpost if you will.

The branches were big enough to set up crude, A-frame shelters among, and provided enough cover so that they couldn't be seen from below. After shelter was sorted, Naruto and Hana had set about setting the surrounding area up with various traps in order to keep their position safe; a security system supplemented by large amounts of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, henge'd into duplicates of the six shinobi they had already defeated patrolling both the immediate area, and the area surrounding the tower.

This meant that for the most part, a team wouldn't even be able to breathe in the area without Naruto knowing; allowing Naruto to check off Konoha's rookie teams as they passed through to ensure they all made it through the forest alive. The pair could stay in the tree for the remainder of the Exam, and essentially act as a rapid response back up team to any of the teams that had one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin with them.

Naruto blinked as he received the memories of two Bunshin dispelling almost simultaneously.

"Hana." The blonde muttered quietly - if they wished to remain undetected, they had to remain as close to silent as possible, even with Naruto's Bunshin around - his eyes narrowed as he took in the implications of the memories he had just received.

"What is it, Naruto? News from your Bunshin?"

Naruto nodded in response. "Team 7 have made it out of the forest okay - they looked exhausted, but safe. Given what one off my other Bunshin found out, I'm not surprised they look a little worse for wear..."

Hana just raised an eyebrow. The blond was tense all of a sudden, his fists clenched with worry of the kind she had only seen from him when they had been making plans for facing Gaara. "They run into Gaara's team?"

"Christ, I almost wish they had... Jiraiya-sensei's in the forest until the exam ends, and he just found one of my Bunshin scouts to give me a message - apparently, Orochimaru infiltrated the exams and attacked Team 7 to try and get at Sasuke's Sharingan. He arrived just in time to stop him from succeeding."

The Inuzuka couldn't stop the slight shaking in her hands as Naruto's words hit home. "Orochimaru - the S-ranked traitor, the Sannin - is _here_?"

"Yeah, it's messed up I know. Jiraiya-sensei doesn't think he'll try anything in the forest now that he knows Jiraiya's around... But he won't have come alone. He'll have others in the exam to try and stir up a bit of chaos, and they'll most likely be targeting Konoha shinobi."

Their eyes met, and Hana almost instinctively knew what Naruto was asking. "Naruto, it's not even a question at this point. We stay until everyone's out safely. Orochimaru's men aren't going to be Genin level - they're going to need us."

Naruto nodded in thanks, an uneasy and forced smile on his face, but the tension never left him, and Hana placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Stop worrying so much, you've already done everything you can to be ready in case something happens. And if it does, they've got the two of us looking out for them - and there's nobody here I'd trust more than you to protect them. Everyone's going to be just fine."

Finally some of the tension bled out of Naruto's frame, and a more genuine smile found it's way onto his face. "You're right, with the two of us here, nobody's going to be able to get to our friends. We won't let them."

Hana just nodded firmly, and turned to get back to her previous position on lookout with the Haimaru triplets.

"Hey Hana... Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Naruto. What're friends for, right?"

Naruto couldn't help the delighted smile that broke out on his face at the girl's words, no matter how casual or nonchalant they might have been. She had been one of the first people around his age to accept him, Kyuubi and all, and that she would still call him a friend meant the absolute world to him.

* * *

_Third Day of the Second Exam_

Hinata clutched her kunai, the henge'd Kage Bunshin, tightly in her hands; her breathing laboured, as she tried to get up from her position on the forest floor. It was however, an attempt made in vain.

She was weak. Pathetically so, really. Her father had always said it, and it was an opinion echoed by almost every one that resided within the hallowed halls of her clan's compound.

Her Jyuuken was poor.

Her Byakugan was ineffectual - her mastery over the fabled Dojutsu of the Hyuuga clan, was negligible.

Her emotions made her soft, made her feeble.

She would never succeed, either as a clan head, or even as a somewhat reputable shinobi; no matter how hard she tried, no matter how long she trained, and regardless of the number of times she dragged herself back to her feet after working herself to exhaustion, and tried to push past her own meek limits.

She would always be weak.

Except now, in this awful place, it wasn't just her that was being punished for it. Her barely functioning Byakugan meant that she didn't even need to look up t see her team-mates breathing hard, but standing valiantly in front of her fallen form - protecting her from the two Kusagakure shinobi that had attacked them.

And what terrifying shinobi they were. Hinata almost didn't believe they were Genin.

The one standing on the left had taken her to pieces. The ninja looked to be around fifteen years old, and was wearing the uniform that his entire team had been clad in, a loose, beige shirt and black combat trousers. He had looked incredibly plain and _average_, with black hair cut short and neat, and no weapons or equipment of real note.

That is, until he had crouched onto all fours and launched himself at Hinata at a speed that she had barely been able to follow with her eyes, and unleashed a barrage of animalistic taijutsu that she hadn't been able to predict or outmaneuver. She dodged where she could, and even managed to strike back a few times in the furiously fast taijutsu exchange, but she was taking too much damage, and too fast.

Worse still, Shino and Kiba hadn't been able to get past the second shinobi; a katana wielding Genin dressed the same, but with shoulder length grey hair, and milky white eyes that indicated blindness. Hinata hadn't been able to get a glimpse of his abilities with all her focus on her own opponent, but when her enemy began to relent, leaving her crumpled on the floor unable to move through the pain - the grey haired shinobi looked utterly unscathed, whereas her team-mates were breathing hard, albeit otherwise uninjured on the surface.

"You okay Hinata?" Kiba's voice, uncharacteristically worried, broke her from her thoughts; and she tried and failed to move once more.

"I- I can't move... But I d-don't think- I mean I'm not hurt fatally."

"That, can be remedied."

The katana wielding shinobi's voice broke into their conversation, monotone, and blandly; and he began to walk towards Team 8, even in the face of Kiba's animalistic growl.

"The hell it can, you asshole! _Shikakyu no jutsu!_"

The Kusagakure shinobi watched impassively as the Inuzuka boy leapt without thinking.

He was inferior. Yet another inferior enemy.

He almost sighed out loud at how disappointing this venture had been. Not that he would ever voice hat to his master. He knew full well the consequences of complaining about one's missions to Orochimaru-sama. No, he would do as he had been asked, and spill as much Konoha blood as possible in this forest, before escaping the village. His master had predicted that Konoha would have figured out that they were not really Kusa Genin by the end of this test, and therefore progression in the Exam itself in order to kill even more under the guise of the exam would be impossible.

Besides, they would be back in a months time regardless, and on _that_ day, he would have as many victims as he pleased.

That however did not mean he was satisfied with the meager pickings he had already claimed in the forest. His master had sent him to spill blood, and he relished the chance to do so in the name of the snake Sannin; and already, he had cut down several weak Genin in this forest. But what he really wanted was someone _worthy_, somebody who deserved the honour of joining him and his master, somebody strong enough to have earned the privilege of his company for all eternity.

But all he had found, was trash.

This Konoha team before him, were obviously a cut above the standard of Genin in the forest. The girl's defense against his teammate's taijutsu attack had shown him that. He had used chakra to massively exceed the limits of his own physical training and attack with a veritable storm of chakra enhanced blows, and even then, the girl had managed to keep him at bay for an impressive amount of time.

He couldn't see them - any of them, but he could feel them. He could sense their capabilities, their power. They were fairly strong.

But they weren't strong enough.

He didn't even blink as the Inuzuka was blindsided by the animilistic charge of his teammate; who ironically, from what he had gathered from the man's inane talking as they had searched for victims, was using a style of combat that arose from trying to imitate the Inuzuka jutsus and way of fighting. He too used chakra to enhance his movement speed and strength, and based his movements on those of a wolf. If he could care less about the skills of those weaker than himself, he might have found it an interesting match up.

As it was, all that he noticed was the vague background noise of the weak fighting the weak. The sound of strikes landing and being blocked, the heavy din of combat, was all but entirely tuned out. Their fight was below his notice. He began to walk towards the remaining standing Konoha shinobi, who stood stoically tense at his approach. He detected no fear from this one, though he couldn't see him, just a certain tension in his chakra that belied his state of alertness to the katana wielding shinobi's casual movements towards him.

"You are not here for our scrolls." The boy's voice was terse, and ever so slightly nasally, and there was an ever so slight buzzing quality to it, so subtle it was possible that it was entirely imagined.

"No. We are here for your blood, and then your lives." A pause that two the two ninja standing opposite each other seemed to create a silence that dwarfed the sound of battle around them. "You are tense. Does that frighten you?"

"Your perception, for somebody who is visually impaired is exceptional. But in answer to your question, no. An Aburame does not fear death when fighting for one's allies. After all, an ant must be willing to die for the greater good of the hive, to protect the queen."

"Somebody who is not afraid to die..." He smiled softly. The Aburame boy was weak, but his resolve was better than all of the trash he killed in Orochimaru's name up until now. He just might be worth _keeping_. "Show me that resolve when you are drawing your last breath, in pain, and alone. Show me that you don't truly fear death's cold embrace - and I will give you a reward beyond your wildest imaginations. I will show you _immortality_."

He idly tilted his head to the side as the girl threw a kunai aimed straight between his eyes, and felt her finally pass out from exhaustion as the weapon disappeared into the canopy above.

Slowly, he drew his katana. It was time to end their lives as Orochimaru had commanded.

This was his master's whim after all, and it was his purpose to ensure his master's goals were accomplished.

* * *

He'd known. This whole time, he'd known that she was a traitor this _whole_ damn time.

In retrospect, Tsuchi Kin had been a total moron to believe absolutely anything else. Orochimaru, the leader of the village she had betrayed, was a Sannin. A Kage level ninja.

She was a 14 year old Genin, whom he had known since she was ten, when he had bought her from a bunch of scumbags that dealt in human trafficking.

_Of course_ he'd known.

Back then, she had a lot of hate, pure venomous rage bottled up inside; and he had seen it, and tried to exploit it. He took her in, and had her trained, and promised her her revenge against those bastards that had gutted her parents and her little sister right in front of her.

She had only been three years old at the time - too young to be useful to them, apparently, and Kin had loved her more than anything in the world. And Orochimaru had known exactly how to take advantage of that. Under his watchful eye, she had fought for every scrap of skill and power that she had, bled and cried for it, totally obedient and entirely grateful to the man that had not only rescued her, but given her the opportunity to get revenge against the people that had ripped her family apart.

And then she had stumbled, quite literally, into the realisation that she had been tricked, lied to, and manipulated by her supposed savior. She had found out all too suddenly just what kind of man he was.

She had walked into one of the people that had broken into her house that night, right in the middle of their own base. She wasn't strictly supposed to be there - she was stationed somewhere else, and had been on a nothing delivery mission for Otogakure, and this base made a good waypoint between her destination and where she was stationed - but she walked right by him in the middle of one of the many corridors, walking casually like he owned the damn place.

At ten, she would have charged him there and then. After two years with Orochimaru however, her instincts as a shinobi were far, far better than that. What on earth was he doing here? She could tell he was a civilian, that he wasn't trained, so he wasn't _infiltrating. _So, naturally, she followed him.

Right into the labs that they had in every base, the labs that she had always been forbidden under pain of death from entering.

And just like that, her world was flipped upside down all over again.

Tanks filled with pale green liquid lined the walls, each one containing a child between the years of eight and ten, eyes frozen open in a vacant expression of pain, and terror; and the center of the room had three autopsy tables, each with the body of a child upon them, two already carved open, and left alone, and a scientist and the slaver standing next to the third, muttering quietly to each other.

The girl wasn't any older than seven, and it was only far to late, seconds after the scientist used a scalpel to carve the girl open, that Kin realised that she was _alive_.

The image would stay in her brain for the rest of her days. A little girl, her impossibly long, blonde hair cascading over the edge of the autopsy table; tears streaming down her face, entirely unable to move at all - unless of course, you count the steady rise and fall of her exposed ribcage as she breathed through the sheer _agony_ of what was being done to her.

And just like that, her mind connected the dots. The slavers, Orochimaru, everything.

They worked for him. Taking children for his sick human experiments, for his twisted, fucked up game of hidden village. Those he saw no value in, became _this_. Those that had something he found interesting, an enduring hatred perhaps, or maybe a peculiar ability, or will to survive, he _rescued_. Tricked them into gratitude, and into obedience.

More than anything in the world, and most likely because of her love of her sister, Kin loved children. Even as she embraced the callous, cold-hearted way of the shinobi for her revenge; she had never been able to shake or get past her love of spending time with kids. She even harbored dreams of setting up an orphanage, helping kids like her without homes to go to anymore.

But before she could do that, she had to do what she could to stop this. Not what was happening right now - she could tell that the little girl couldn't be saved, and she wasn't strong enough to break out any of these kids. There were Jonin stationed at this base after all. But even if she couldn't bring down the operation herself, she could undermine it.

So she became a spy. A traitor.

She approached several agents of the minor hidden villages - the major ones were too dangerous to try because of Orochimaru's own agents - and began leaking information. Base locations, security protocol, number of shinobi - everything she could think of. For a full year and a half she had done it, before she struck big time.

She had been contacted by an agent of Jiraiya of the Sannin.

The man's reputation as a spy was utterly infamous in the shinobi underground, and not only that, but giving information to Konoha, the first victims of Orochimaru's betrayal, was the best way to bring down the bastard himself. It was almost too good to be true, and she had spilled her guts to the man, who had then passed the information on to the Sannin.

She paused in her frantic run through Konoha's Forest of Death to glance over her shoulder, ensuring that her pursuers were not right on top of her still, and tried to catch her breath,even as the sweat poured down her face. A moment later, and she heard the sounds of her two team-mates, ordered to kill her for her betrayal, and couldn't help but wonder if it _had_ been too good to be true after all.

She set off again at a breakneck pace.

However, she knew she was dead. Her hunters were both stronger than her, if a little slower, and she was lost with no time or way to set up an ambush, or counterattack. It was only a matter of time before she would be too exhausted to run, and she was banking on a miracle to save her.

Thing was, if her time with Orochimaru had taught her anything, it was that miracles like that simply didn't exist.

* * *

Shino dropped to his knees, his legs simply unable to take the strain of his weight any longer, and gazed out from behind his pitch black sunglasses, at the scattered remains of much of his kikaichu insect colony that normally resided within his own body, their corpses strewn out across the battlefield. What was left - which was not an unreasonable amount, truth be told - buzzed dangerously behind his long, grey overcoat, ready to defend their exhausted host.

Trouble was, he simply did not have the strength to command them properly; and if they attacked without strategy, they would simply die all the faster.

The Kusagakure genin was almost impossibly good for somebody of their level - in fact, Shino was certain that he _was not_ their level at all. Most likely a Chunin level shinobi posing as a Genin for an as yet unknown purpose. Their fight had actually begun somewhat evenly matched, Shino's thorough drilling in use of his colony, and in combat techniques from his clan, as well as his own innate ability to strategise, allowed him to fight on even terms with his more skilled and more powerful opponent.

He had scored several good hits, and forced the Kusa shinobi to expend a good amount of chakra using ninjutsu to defend against the onslaught of his colony of insects. But to be frank, the enemy was on a different level to him, one that Shino had never anticipated encountering so soon into his career. They had never really stood much of a chance of winning at all, especially after a glance at Kiba.

The Inuzuka was in worse shape then he, littered with deep, still bleeding gashes and bruises; crouched protectively over the unconscious Akamaru, struggling to stay on his feet. His opponent was winded, and had obviously taken a reasonable amount of damage, as well as having expended a fair amount of chakra; but was the clear winner.

Shino admittedly wasn't in a _much_ better shape. The enemy was fast, and attacked mercilessly and relentlessly, aiming to kill. He had been hard pressed to dodge when he got close, and was sporting numerous shallow cuts from near misses where he had moved just in time to avoid a strike aimed at his vital points. Worse than that however, was the deep cut on his left side that he was currently clutching in order to try and prevent some of the bleeding. It was an effort in vain however - he was already feeling weakened and slightly faint, and it wouldn't be long before he lost consciousness. He however, suspected he didn't even have that long.

His plan had been to try and occupy the enemy for as long as possible, and wear him down, if he could. There was no escape with Hinata out cold - not from shinobi this strong - but Hinata's last waking action might just have saved them, if he had been able to last but a little bit longer.

That kunai she had thrown. He had known instinctively, exactly _which_ kunai it was that she had thrown, and Shino had planned accordingly.

If only he had lasted just a bit longer. Just a moment longer would have given them even more of a chance of getting away alive. Unfortunately, it appeared he had failed. He felt the icy touch of cold steel press against his throat, and he couldn't find the energy to try and escape. He was going to be executed here, defeated in battle, and his team-mates would soon follow him. And there was absolutely nothing he could do. He had been weak, much too weak to protect them - the first two people to accept him as friends, despite his stoic nature, despite his status as a Kikaichu host. They were going to die because he hadn't been good enough.

Shino didn't know it, but Kiba was echoing those thoughts regarding himself even as his own opponent approached him, kunai drawn, ready to snuff out his life; and Hinata's last waking thoughts had been just the same.

"You were more than worthy." The Kusa genin's voice was absent of it's blank monotone quality for the first time in their entire meeting. He seemed excited, eager, and Shino couldn't help the feeling of apprehension that overtook him as he listened to his opponent speak. "And as a reward, you will stay here, by my side, for eternity. Do not fear your death, because after it you will never be alone again."

Shino braced himself as he felt the tensing of his enemy's arms through the blade pressed against his throat, readying himself for death.

In that precise moment several things happened so fast that it took Shino until much later to process them all alongside the improbable idea that he and his team had survived their brush with death.

First - but only by the slightest fraction of a second - Uzumaki Naruto struck from above, leaping onto a loudly announced flying kick that Shino only realised had been to take the enemies attention away from the defeated Aburame, and force the Kusa-nin back just enough to allow a second Uzumaki Naruto to burst from the ground in front of him, and tackle Shino away from the flick of the deadly enemy's katana as he tried to finish Shino quickly before dealing with the new arrival.

At the same time as all this had happened, Naruto had pulled the same maneuver with Kiba's opponent, and had moved him back to where Inuzuka Hana had already launched into treating Hinata - apparently trusting in Naruto completely. Their level of cohesion actually impressed him somewhat.

Once again, Shino didn't have a chance to fully understand exactly how precise Naruto's timing had to have been, how well executed the rescue was, until he had time to reflect much, much later on.

For now, he was just grateful to be alive - and that his team had been given a chance. The blond's arrival, just his presence, seemed to reassure him in a way that he didn't fully understand yet.

He had, however, fully expected Naruto to launch into combat against the enemy - but he just stood protectively in front of him, fists clenched, eyes focused entirely on the enemy; and it struck Shino that he had never seen Uzumaki Naruto _truly_ angry. Oh, he had seen him frustrated, annoyed - loudly and explosively so - but never like _this_.

Hands curled up into fists, nails digging so hard into his palms that they were drawing blood, his body so tensed that he was actually visibly shaking; and on top of all that, he was bleeding chakra - so much that it actually agitated his kikaichu bugs. Shino had done his research into Jinchuuriki after Naruto's revelation, too, in order to better understand his comrade's burden and it's consequences as best he could. He knew what demonic chakra was supposed to feel like, to look like. This was not it. This was all Naruto's own chakra.

Shino had noticed that Uzumaki Naruto was somewhat more capable than he had shown in the Academy. Now, he was forced to conclude that he may have drastically miscalculated, and couldn't help but wonder just how much the blond had been underestimated by them all. The Genin in question's voice broke him out of his reverie.

"Hana, are Kiba and Hinata okay to be moved?" His voice was hard, and intense, but none of the anger he clearly felt had been directed at his team-mate.

"They've been beaten pretty hard, and are exhausted - but it's nothing dangerous, nothing that needs to be treated immediately, and certainly nothing I couldn't fix. They'll e safe to transport as they are." Hana's reply came out strangely as though she were delivering a report, and a niggling thought began scratching away at the back of Shino's logical and ordered mind, like he had just been struck by an unbelievable sense of familiarity, but he couldn't quite place just where this familiarity came from.

"Great news. In that case, get Shino a soldier pill, and try and heal up that wound on his side - at the very least get him mobile, and I'll get them out of here. Once that's dealt with, we'll deal with these assholes together. Shino, what can you tell me about their abilities."

Shino found himself answering Naruto before he had time to comprehend why he was so compelled to listen to the blond's plans, and simply accept them as the right options. He trusted Naruto; his judgement, his capabilities, his ability to get his team out alive, and he didn't know why - the impulse went against every scrap of data he had available on Uzumaki Naruto from the time in the Academy, and was entirely illogical - and for an Aburame, that was practically a sin. Yet, one that he continued to commit, either way.

Partly because he didn't seem to be able to stop himself, and partly because he was aware that the shock that Naruto's arrival, and his subsequent taking control of the situation, had caused in the enemy was beginning to wear off; and therefore the time in which he had to disseminate the information that Naruto would require to fight such an enemy, was running distinctly low.

A short 20 second breakdown of the enemies abilities and level that he was rather sure Naruto should have been more concerned about, but the confident nod of the head in response, and calm but assured way he continued to speak to himself and Hana, stopped him from voicing that belief. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Hana also didn't appear to be worried - nor was she perturbed that she had followed Naruto's instructions to heal his wound and get him ready to travel without even a moments hesitation, trusting in his admittedly fairly sensible plan completely.

Although he still wasn't sure how they were going to escape.

"You appear to believe that I am just going to let you all leave, almost as if you were under the impression that you were able to get past me, never mind my team-mate."

Naruto faced his enemy, and looked him in the eyes, and the anger that had left him while talking to the Konoha shinobi seemed to emerge once more as he was forced to focus completely on the Kusa-nin.

"Actually no. You're only going to let the three you already hurt leave. You're going to let them leave, but that won't matter, because you'll be far too busy with me to worry about them." Naruto ignored the disbelieving scoff from the enemy, and turned back to Shino. "Now, Shino, I'm going to summon a toad that will transport you straight to the tower. He's an expert in stealth and infiltration, so you should be safe until you get there, but you need to stay awake until you do just in case he does run into trouble, okay? Also, what scroll do you have?"

The Aburame nodded and answered that he had an heaven scroll, even as his mind raced. The Toads were renowned summons, but were also notoriously difficult as a clan to master the technique. Summoning toads took phenomenal amounts of chakra, even for the weakest; and summoning individually took no small amount of skill.

There was after all a reason that the only two prominent Toad summoners in all of shinobi history were Jiraiya of the Sannin and the Fourth Hokage - both legendary shinobi.

His attention was drawn back to Naruto, who handed him an earth scroll, claiming it was a spare that they had obtained, before he began flying through hand seals with a bloodied finger, at a speed that surprised Shino - it spoke of years of practice that Naruto simply hadn't live long enough to obtain - and slammed is palm into the ground. "_Kekkai: Gama Hyōrō." _

The small, dark red toad toad with a cork in it's mouth that appeared however, solicited a rare raised eyebrow from the stoic Aburame. Toads were difficult to summon of course, and it _was_ highly unlikely that Naruto was proficient with the technique as he claimed to be; so it was not difficult for Shino to begin to doubt Naruto's plan once again, though once again, his calm and unsurprised demeanor at the appearance of the toad that was clearly too small to take them _anywhere_ prevented him from speaking out.

"Hyōro-chan, I need you to get the three injured Konoha-nin to the tower a few kilometers north-east of here as soon as possible - without being seen if at all possible. Two of them can't fight, but Aburame Shino here-" Naruto placed his hand on Shino's shoulder as he spoke, in order to point him out, "- should be able to at least give you a fighting chance if you _are_ spotted."

The toad just smirked, though his eyes never left the enemy, even as he began to speak with the cork still in his mouth. "Please, Naruto-kun. Who do you think you're talking to here? Seen? Me?! You should know better than that. But I will do as you ask, of course. I take it the Inuzuka will be fighting alongside you?"

Naruto nodded. "They're not so injured that they need immediate medical attention, so yeah, Hana'll be fighting with me. Looks like I'll have my hands full with just this guy, let alone his buddy."

"Hmm, good to see you won't be taking these two by yourself. That said, Gamasenso is itching for a fight - and has been looking forward to fighting by your side since you first summoned him, so don't hesitate if you need help."

"Good to know he's so eager - I'll keep it in mind!" Naruto chuckled at the thought of his first proper sucess, and the fun he he'd had sparring with the blue toad since. Now get them out of here. I have a feeling this guy isn't gonna wait any longer."

"Right you are, not then, Aburame-san - this always feels a little weird the first time it happens to you, but just bare with it. I'll have you and your team-mates at the tower in no time."

And before Shino could question exactly what was going on, the toad reached for the cork in it's mouth and removed it; and the moment he did so, the world around the Aburame began to blur and darken, disorientating him slightly, and he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation - as though he were being squeezed through a particularly narrow tube.

And just like that, Team 8 wasn't on the battlefield at all.

Naruto's face dropped into a scowl as the toad nodded at him and set off, activating some kind of camouflaging technique as he did so, and turned back towards his opponent, who was looking at him with a calculating look in his pale, damaged eyes.

"I can sense your chakra, and through it, your strength. You are strong, nearly as much as I - you will be infinitely more worthwhile than any of them. I shall spill their blood on another day - today though, I shall make you _mine_."

Naruto didn't know what to make of the maddened tone the Kusa-nin's voice had taken on, nor the excited trembling of the hand that held his blade; so he shot a glance over at Hana and her dogs, who had formed up opposite the shinobi that had been about to kill her brother, Kiba. He couldn't help but smile at her resolve, and rather unbelievable control in the face of the man who had hurt her brother - he was almost certain he wouldn't have been able to focus on her duty as a med-nin with the guy just standing there like that.

Hana had however. She had made sure everyone was okay, done her duty; and judging by the smoldering look in her eyes as she faced the other Genin down, she was about to get her reward.

"You might be more powerful than me, but there's a lot more to battle than power." He began, as he felt a familiar feeling of dread and self loathing - the very same feeling he had just before his assassination mission, the mission he had been trying so hard to just forget and suppress the memories of, even as his resolve took hold of him in the face of the threat to his comrades. "Either way, doesn't matter. From what I can tell, you came here to this Exam to kill - to satisfy some kind of twisted blood lust - not to compete. Worse still, you've singled out _my _comrades as targets, and even now you continue to threaten them. You're an active, present threat to the lives of my comrades, and those that live in my village."

Naruto summoned his sansetsukon as a counter to the Kusa-nin's katana, and he tried to prevent his voice from wavering as images of a peacefully sleeping man moments before his own death forced their way into his mind's eye.

"And because of that, you can't be allowed to live."

* * *

**Holy smokes, I didn't expect this chapter to be this long! I also didn't expect to only get this far into the Forest of Death segment of the exams - there's still a fair bit left to go, plus the prelims!  
**

**On the other hand, the flow of the chapter was starting to feel a it forced to me, and I feel I left it at a good place to resume the story in ch.28. Really glad that Orohimaru's student is getting his fight - which will serve as a replacement 'boss fight' if you will to Naruto duking it out with the Ame nin and Orochimaru in canon. **

**Also, when thinking about how easily Naruto and Hana took down the two teams at the start, try and remember that Naruto's been training with Jiraiya and Yuugao and Kage Bunshin since graduation, and that Hana's been training with Tsume on top of having been a Genin for several years already. Add to that the fact that both the Suna and Ame teams were basically fodder - some of the weakest teams in the Exam that made it to the forest - and it starts to seem fair enough.**

**Orochimaru's student is to be the true test for Naruto at this point.**

**Also, hows about that Sasuke?! It's most likely that I'll be weaving some of Team 7's history into the future story, so that Sasuke's change can be explored a littlemore thoroughly - but fot the most part, I think I did a fair job of expressing Sasuke's thoughts as he decided to save his team. No curse mark! Sasuke's loyal! At least, for now...**

**Orochimaru isn't the only bad guy that can offer Sasuke power after all, and let's not forget that he also needs sharingan training...**

**Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed. Until next time!**

**Jutsu List  
**

**_Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands) - _**_Snakes emerge from the user's wrists and attack from a distance. They can bind the enemy as well as bite them, and depending on the snakes summoned with the technique, can administer a wide variety of poisons and paralysis agents. _

**___Doton: Ganban Kyū (Earth Release: Bedrock Coffin) - _**___An Earth Release ninjutsu where pillars of earth form out of the ground, and trap the target within, unable to escape. The multiple sections of rock can also be used to crush the target.  
_

**_____Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique)_ - **___This technique allows the user to conceal themselves underground, and attack their enemies from below, including being able to drag them down into the ground too, trapping them.  
_

**_____Ninpo: Chōjū Giga (Ninja Art: Beast Scroll Replicas) - _**_____The user draws pictures of animals on a scroll, and uses chakra to animate the drawings and control them as thought they were real animals. Any number of creature can be drawn, such as lions, hawks, fish, etc.  
_

**_____Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique) -_**_____The user spews several small fireballs from his/her mouth, in a spread pattern, in order to make the technique more difficult to avoid._

**_____Gatsuuga (Passing Fang) -_**_____The user, by themselves or with their ninken partner, spin at a ferocious speed and deliver many powerful beast-like attacks when contact is made with the target._

_____**Bunshin Daibakuha (Great Clone Explosion) - **The user overloads a Kage Bunshin with chakra upon creation, resulting in a Bunshin that can detonate - either by itself or on command. The strength of the explosion can by modified by varying the amount of chakra used.  
_

_____****__Kekkai: Gama Hyōrō_ (Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison) - The user summons a toad that can use space/time ninjutsu to safely bring people and objects into it's own stomach. It's stomach itself is protected by a barrier ninjutsu, making it nearly impossible to escape from if placed with against your own will - but also incredibly difficult to penetrate from the outside.  



End file.
